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I really love all these articles about Data Science, but it's a lot more than statistics. It's programming, it's domain knowledge, and yes, it's a lot about th

I really love all these articles about Data Science, but it's a lot more than statistics. It's programming, it's domain knowledge, and yes, it's a lot about thinking of the meaning, format, and pliability of the data.

gaius 13y ago
In other words, being a business analyst, but without the experience to know that that's already a job.
- saraid216 13y ago
  And possibly applicable to things that aren't related to making money.
  - gaius 13y ago
    I know several BAs who works for charities. Any large organization needs them to operate efficiently.
    - mathattack 13y ago
      One of the most important uses of data science is to determine the impact of charitable giving. Is it a more efficient use of money to give people cash, or pay for infrastructure in their town? Is it more efficient to invest in K-5 education, 6-8, high school or college? There are lots of ideological answers to these questions, but data science is great for supplying empirical evidence.
      - gaius 13y ago
        Actually civil servants have been churning this stuff out since the 50s, if not before. Politicians ignore it of course, but if you think this is a new thing, then you have fallen into the common data science trap of not knowing there's nothing new under the sun. Which is odd really since anyone calling themselves a scientist of any sort should be able to do some research and not reinvent the wheel.
- mathattack 13y ago
  You lost me a little with the analogy, but perhaps because my limited experience with business analysts has been that they are folks not technical enough for other jobs. This isn't how it should be, and it isn't universal, but based on my limited sample set, BAs tend to be folks who can write what someone else tells them, but they rarely contribute much more. (The ~10% who defy this description are worth their weight in gold, perhaps platinum)
- netcan 13y ago
  Everything has predecessors. Business analysts didn't previously have so much data to analyze. Now they do, and the job is a lot different to what it was.

gaius 13y ago

In other words, being a business analyst, but without the experience to know that that's already a job.

saraid216 13y ago
And possibly applicable to things that aren't related to making money.
- gaius 13y ago
  I know several BAs who works for charities. Any large organization needs them to operate efficiently.
  - mathattack 13y ago
    One of the most important uses of data science is to determine the impact of charitable giving. Is it a more efficient use of money to give people cash, or pay for infrastructure in their town? Is it more efficient to invest in K-5 education, 6-8, high school or college? There are lots of ideological answers to these questions, but data science is great for supplying empirical evidence.
    - gaius 13y ago
      Actually civil servants have been churning this stuff out since the 50s, if not before. Politicians ignore it of course, but if you think this is a new thing, then you have fallen into the common data science trap of not knowing there's nothing new under the sun. Which is odd really since anyone calling themselves a scientist of any sort should be able to do some research and not reinvent the wheel.
mathattack 13y ago
You lost me a little with the analogy, but perhaps because my limited experience with business analysts has been that they are folks not technical enough for other jobs. This isn't how it should be, and it isn't universal, but based on my limited sample set, BAs tend to be folks who can write what someone else tells them, but they rarely contribute much more. (The ~10% who defy this description are worth their weight in gold, perhaps platinum)
netcan 13y ago
Everything has predecessors. Business analysts didn't previously have so much data to analyze. Now they do, and the job is a lot different to what it was.