Why should you pursue a career in Data Science?

Equip yourself with the latest skills to deliver the needs of tomorrow’s workplace.

Technical and societal advancements have meant that data is now an increasingly important focus across industries. As the world embraces and creates data at exponential rates, data science is becoming an incredible growth industry.

For those with a mathematical or scientific mind, an attention to detail, and the skills to collate, present and analyse content in clear and meaningful ways, data science is a particularly exciting field that may just foster your next promotion or career change.

Demand for workers with specialist data skills like data scientists and data engineers has more than tripled over five years (+231%), according to a labour market analysis commissioned for Dynamics of Data Science Skills.

In addition, the number of employee hours spent analysing data and using data to inform decision-making is expected to rise 10% over the next five years, according to the National Skills Commission five-year skills cluster report.

According to the National Skills Commission 2021, these jobs are projected to grow between 11% and 12.9% over the next five years.

With a Master of Data Science from the University of Newcastle, you can gain the skills to gather and analyse important data across a range of exciting industries and settings, making you highly valuable to business leaders and high-powered decision makers.

Plus, your value as a data scientist will be rewarded, with EMSI Burning Glass Labour Insight reporting that 60% of advertised salaries in the year to May 2022 were above $100,000.

Jobs requiring data analysis are projected to grow between 11% and 12.9% over the next five years.

What industries can you work in?

Data scientists can be found anywhere as they are needed across all industries. Taking a multidisciplinary perspective, graduates draw on the knowledge of experts in statistics, biostatistics, computer science, information technology, applied mathematics, programming, engineering, science, and data intuition.

Depending on a graduate’s major, they can be found working in areas such as data mining and machine learning, through to medical statistics and biostatistics. You could become the expert that is hired to predict market trends, boost sales conversion rates and track business development.

The University of Newcastle’s professional and industry-oriented program enables students to apply theoretical statistical and computational knowledge to better understand and explore data using applied problem solving and computer practice. Graduates can model real-world situations, think abstractly, process, manage, interpret, and effectively communicate data.

According to the World Economic Forum’s The Future of Jobs Report of 2020, skills taught in the Master of Data Science, including analytical thinking and innovation, critical thinking and analysis, technology use, monitoring and control, technology design and programming and reasoning, problem-solving and ideation are high in demand from employers.

These skills can be used across a range of industries and job roles. Some of the key roles that graduates may find include:

Data Scientist

Most data science professionals will be called a ‘data scientist’ or similar. This role generally involves taking large amounts of data, analysing it and implementing findings to improve a business, organisation or government agency. This makes data scientists uniquely important to businesses as they provide the information needed to make high level decisions.

There is currently a huge demand for data scientists, especially for those that are highly skilled in programming languages such as Python, R and SQL. Data scientists may also work closely with data analysts where scientists create complex data models and methods that analysts then use to produce reports and direct organisational decision making.

Data Analyst

The responsibility of a data analyst is to both analyse and interpret data to inform the direction of a business or organisation. Data analysts use specific methods of data collection and analysis to transform information and harness its benefit.

Data analysts often find new opportunities for increasing revenue, driving down costs or extending organisational activities based on trends found in data. They might forecast turnover in future years or assist in planning for the future. The ability to improve a business or organisation’s outputs makes data analysts highly employable and useful in a business setting.

Data Manager

Data managers harness the skills of a data scientist with the additional awareness of the needs of a business. Data managers are often the key in achieving important business goals as they are directly responsible for the flow of data, as well as the processes and coordination involved in analysis.

Data managers may oversee the management of a team, department or even an enterprise. They are responsible for ensuring data integrity and that stakeholders can access data appropriately. As data managers are more involved in the business side of things, they may find that strong interpersonal skills will serve them well as they present findings to varied groups within the organisation.

Data Engineer

Data engineers work with data in its most ‘raw’ form. In working with raw data, often including machine, instrument, or human errors, data engineers make data ready for data scientists to complete additional processing and modelling.

Successful data engineers are often proficient in several programming languages including Python, R, Java, SQL and more. Data engineers also create tools to help store the large amounts of data needed in a safe and efficient way.

Business Analyst

A business analyst examines and analyses business procedures to determine what works best for their organisation. This role involves finding inefficiencies and providing technical information to key stakeholders. Business analysts are often team leaders.

While data is a big part of this role, it also encompasses many other business-related skills. Those with high quality communication and business skills may excel in a business analyst role.

If a promotion or career change to a role in data science sounds like the next step for you, learn more about the University of Newcastle’s postgraduate data science degree.

Study a Master of Data Science