When looking for career options these days, one is often found considering data analysis. But before jumping into its prospects, let’s understand what a data analyst is.
Data analysis refers to crunching data i.e. cleaning, inspecting, analyzing, prospecting, understanding and interpreting data.
Data is the new currency and a data analyst makes sense of raw, empirical and meaningless data points. It involves extracting information from data sets and then making decisions for the organization based on it.
Now that we have a basic idea of the work, let’s analyze its market relevance.
As we enter the Industrial Revolution 4.0, the relevance of data is ever-increasing. All forms of global domination will depend on who wins the race for IR 4.0. Demand is very high as many startups focus on online presence and innovation.
Any industry that you can think of requires a data analyst. If a company has a marketing presence, data analysis will form the basis of it. It is relevant, from health, education, and fin-tech to governance.
If we focus on India, the IT industry is booming. India is becoming a world leader in services. They form the majority of India’s GDP contribution and exports as well.
If you dream of crunching numbers at hedge funds, Wall Street firms or banking companies- this could be for you.
Since the remuneration is high, the work required is also high level. Data science involves complex statistical models, the newest coding techniques, and constant updating and skilling in the field.
Profile options
Strategy analyst
Marketing analyst
Management
Budget strategist
Business analyst
Consultant
Management consultant
System Analyst
Operations management
Fraud analyst and many more
Expected remuneration in India is around 7 LPA. This varies greatly with the skillset and experience of a worker.
Eligibility
Your pay package and profile will depend on a combination of three things – academic qualification, experience and updated skills.
Education background- a bachelor’s degree in mathematics/ statistics/ data science/ computer science/ economics/ engineering or related field.
A master’s degree is optional but if your master’s is in a specific field related to data analysis, then it can benefit you.
Basic skills required
- Statistical knowledge is required
- skills to be able to analyze data
- work with data like manipulation
- cleaning
- visualization and presentation
Impact of Artificial Intelligence
Data analysis can greatly aid the evolution of AI and vice versa. The career seems to have a positive growth prospect as AI is also based on data and it cannot yet do the job of an analyst. It’s safe to take this option.
One very common misconception is that data analysts and scientists are the same. This is not true. Let us look at the difference between the two:
Analyst retrieves information, scientist finds patterns.
Analyst collects data and statistical analyses, scientists create final reports.
Create the basic architecture for data modelling, scientist designs info-graphics.
So if we look at the trends in the IT industry and India’s growth potential, it is safe to say that this career has good prospects. Given that you have the academic potential for a grueling and fast-paced environment, you are looking at a bright future.