4 ms·

How many data scientist jobs are actually out there? I can understand data scientist being a position at one of the big 5 tech companies, but are they really in

How many data scientist jobs are actually out there? I can understand data scientist being a position at one of the big 5 tech companies, but are they really in demand elsewhere? I've never actually met someone off the internet who calls themselves a data scientist.

likelynew 9y ago
And in some consultancies too.
bllguo 9y ago
Well, there's a job post on HN right now looking for data scientists :)
tomrod 9y ago
We exist. I just presented at a firmwide Data Science Forum for a very large financial firm.
gipp 9y ago
Ad-tech, fin-tech, marketing analytics firms all hire data scientists in huge numbers. Media companies as well, increasingly. This is probably NYC-biased.
ellisv 9y ago
> I've never actually met someone off the internet who calls themselves a data scientist. You could probably say the same about a lot of job titles. I've never meet a sanitation worker but my trash gets picked up once a week nonetheless.
tegansnyder 9y ago
Manufacturing, finance, areospace, automotive industry, and medical industry are a few other places hiring data scientists.
reader5000 9y ago
Technically anybody who uses Excel is a "data scientist". Just got to get the right buzzwords.
- achompas 9y ago
  This is absurd and false. This person is an analyst of some sort. Maybe this holds in the consulting world? It definitely does not hold in the tech world, IME.
  - gaius 9y ago
    This is absurd and false. This person is an analyst of some sort. And what is a data scientist then, if their work does not involve analysing data and presenting their analysis? 99.9% of "data science" is exactly what people used to do in tools like Excel, MATLAB, even SQL, just in Jupyter instead. On a Mac while sipping a latte.
    - achompas 9y ago
      > And what is a data scientist then, if their work does not involve analysing data and presenting their analysis? This is a dead giveaway that you have no idea what you’re talking about. You’ve captured about 5% of my work. The rest of the time, I’m writing software (ETL pipelines or real-time services, including tests), debugging some distributed system, collecting or cleaning data, or gathering requirements and developing feature specs with other folks. Fortunately for you, you nailed the Mac-using latte-drinking part! EDIT: Reading your comment history on regression and k-means. you _do_ know what you’re talking about. It is hard to get models into production, so I’m surprised to see your snark here. What gives? Do you have experience with DS who don’t deliver?
      - gaius 9y ago
        What gives? Do you have experience with DS who don’t deliver? I have experience of DS who define what they do by the tools they use, not the results they deliver, it's a pet peeve of mine :-) Thanks for going back and making the edit!
hellogoodbyeeee 9y ago
I think the field is seeing a large amount of "title bloat". I've seen job postings for data scientist roles that are only looking for SQL and Microsoft Excel skills. I almost accepted a data scientist role at a small manufacturing company, but a more realistic job title would have been "Marketing Analyst"
mmierz 9y ago
I think it's a dumb name for what I do so I call myself a programmer if anyone asks.

likelynew 9y ago

And in some consultancies too.

bllguo 9y ago

Well, there's a job post on HN right now looking for data scientists :)

tomrod 9y ago

We exist. I just presented at a firmwide Data Science Forum for a very large financial firm.

gipp 9y ago

Ad-tech, fin-tech, marketing analytics firms all hire data scientists in huge numbers. Media companies as well, increasingly. This is probably NYC-biased.

ellisv 9y ago

> I've never actually met someone off the internet who calls themselves a data scientist. You could probably say the same about a lot of job titles. I've never meet a sanitation worker but my trash gets picked up once a week nonetheless.

tegansnyder 9y ago

Manufacturing, finance, areospace, automotive industry, and medical industry are a few other places hiring data scientists.

reader5000 9y ago

Technically anybody who uses Excel is a "data scientist". Just got to get the right buzzwords.

achompas 9y ago
This is absurd and false. This person is an analyst of some sort. Maybe this holds in the consulting world? It definitely does not hold in the tech world, IME.
- gaius 9y ago
  This is absurd and false. This person is an analyst of some sort. And what is a data scientist then, if their work does not involve analysing data and presenting their analysis? 99.9% of "data science" is exactly what people used to do in tools like Excel, MATLAB, even SQL, just in Jupyter instead. On a Mac while sipping a latte.
  - achompas 9y ago
    > And what is a data scientist then, if their work does not involve analysing data and presenting their analysis? This is a dead giveaway that you have no idea what you’re talking about. You’ve captured about 5% of my work. The rest of the time, I’m writing software (ETL pipelines or real-time services, including tests), debugging some distributed system, collecting or cleaning data, or gathering requirements and developing feature specs with other folks. Fortunately for you, you nailed the Mac-using latte-drinking part! EDIT: Reading your comment history on regression and k-means. you _do_ know what you’re talking about. It is hard to get models into production, so I’m surprised to see your snark here. What gives? Do you have experience with DS who don’t deliver?
    - gaius 9y ago
      What gives? Do you have experience with DS who don’t deliver? I have experience of DS who define what they do by the tools they use, not the results they deliver, it's a pet peeve of mine :-) Thanks for going back and making the edit!

hellogoodbyeeee 9y ago

I think the field is seeing a large amount of "title bloat". I've seen job postings for data scientist roles that are only looking for SQL and Microsoft Excel skills. I almost accepted a data scientist role at a small manufacturing company, but a more realistic job title would have been "Marketing Analyst"

mmierz 9y ago

I think it's a dumb name for what I do so I call myself a programmer if anyone asks.