New jobs are being created every year with the effusion of data produced by every conceivable device, supply chain, social media and sensors. As Big Data is gathering momentum, bigger opportunities are heading in the way of IT professionals who have the right skills and qualifications.
By 2018, the U.S. could face a shortage of 140,000 to 190,000 people with deep analytical talent and of 1.5 million people competent of analyzing data in ways that enable business decisions, according to one of the reports published by McKinsey & Company. In order to faucet Big Data’s promise of competitive advantage, IT giants are seeking for skilled Big Data professionals.
One must wonder what skills are required to become a Big Data expert and what kind of background is required for a Big Data job?
To be an expert in the field of Big Data, basic understanding of Linux, knowledge of scripting languages such as Java, Python or R, knowledge of databases like SQL and any visualization tools like Tableau.
According to the Senior Director of Data Science at Cloudera, various organizations are seeking to hire right talent and looking more towards professionals like Application Developers and Software Engineers than to IT operations. However, this does not mean that IT Operations are less looked-for it is equally important for the technology, as they build the infrastructure and enable the systems.
Data Science, one of the key new roles to emerge with the rise of Big Data needs a wide range of skills such as advanced statistics, mathematics, programming skills and knowledge of machine learning. The professional Data Scientist tends to be the highest remunerated group with an average salary above $115,000 USD.
If you are artistic and keen to explore new tools, then Data Architecture or Data Visualization can be the best career choice, as these professionals’ need creativity and persistence to harness data in new ways in order to find new insights. As a result, IT professionals who love to flex a more creative muscle in their jobs may be able to segue into a Big Data career.
In short, the disruptive technology – Big Data carries a huge potential for IT professionals who would savour an opportunity to show their creativity. If you are curious to know more about the technology and willing to upgrade your skills in the field of Big Data, you can write to us at join@cognixia.com.
