WHAT IS DATA SCIENCE?
Data Science is an interdisciplinary course that uses various scientific methods to combine and analyze structured and unstructured data for the purpose of extraction of knowledge and other valuable insights. As of 2020, the career of a data scientist remains to be one of the most demanded and highly paid careers across all industries. The average salary of a data scientist is approximately $130,300, however, this largely depends on a large number of other factors. This field is highly influenced by computer science, statistics, and mathematics. Traditionally, data science encompasses data mining, programming skills, and analyzing big sets of data. However, today this field is extremely expansive and looks at the entire data science life cycle. A few other master’s degrees also related to this field are – master’s in business analytics and master’s in information systems.
Here are a few interesting facts about data science:
- Data is never clean. As a result, the maximum time is required to clean and prepare the data.
95% of the tasks in this field do not require deep learning. - Less than 0.5% of all data that we create is ever used for analysis.
- The data science market is led by the United States of America. It requires 190,000 data scientists by 2020.
A typical Fortune 1000 company can increase net income by $65 million with a 10% increase in data accessibility. - Bad data costs businesses in the United States $600 billion annually
WHY IS DATA SCIENCE SO IMPORTANT THESE DAYS?
Data science is extremely important these days because of the amount of information that can be obtained from available data. This information can be used for all types of purposes – from hiring new candidates to making cost decisions for the business.
As of 2020, there is a huge amount of data available in the markets across all firms and industries. Letting these past records go to waste, would be a shame. Investing in the right data analysis methods in the firm can help you gain extremely useful insights into the market that can be incorporated in your decision making processes to get an edge over your competitors. Data science empowers managers and other top-level management officers to make better decisions. The best part about data science is that it can be applied in each and every industry, from food to healthcare and from hospitality to education.
ONLINE COURSES vs CLASSROOM COURSES
There are two main types of data science master programs – online and classroom. It is important to weigh out the pros and cons of both before choosing what suits you best.
ONLINE COURSES:
- Online programs are usually cheaper than most offline programs and you can save your money there.
- You have the flexibility to finish your degree and course at your own time. You can schedule your study while working or vacationing.
- You can pursue your course from anywhere in the world. Geographic boundaries cannot limit you.
OFFLINE/CLASSROOM COURSES:
- You get to interact face-to-face with your colleagues and course mates.
- You have wonderful opportunities to build and grow your network by manifolds.
- You get access to all reading material and other interesting resources at your school library.
Another important point that must be remembered is that you also have a choice to decide whether you wish to pursue a full-time degree or a part-time course. A full-time course is 1.5-2 years in duration while a part-time master’s degree can take anything between 2.5-3 years to complete. While a full-time course ensures that you receive finish your degree that a shorter period of time, a part-time degree also ensures that you get the same career opportunities just with a little extra patience.
COST OF A MASTER’S PROGRAM IN DATA SCIENCE
The average cost of your master’s degree in data science depends largely on the country you pursue it from. Here is a list:
- USA– $55,000
- Australia- 28,000 Euro/year (A$ 40,160)
- Canada– 30, 000 EUR/year (CAD- 44983.44)
- Germany – 20,000 EUR/year
- UK- 20.000 EUR/Year (17515.60)
- New Zealand- 27.000 EUR/year (NZD- 44847.78)
- Sweden- 14,000 EUR/year (kr 145217.34)
- Singapore- S$35,000 (USD $25,560)
TOP UNIVERSITIES MASTERS IN DATA SCIENCE AND RELATED COURSES
Here is a list of the top 15 universities, across the world, which offer a course in data science. Choose your best pick!
1. PURDUE UNIVERSITY
Master of Science in Business Analytics and Information Management is a full-time program that runs for three semesters and is offered by the Krannert School of Management. It is located in Lafayette, Indiana.
2. DePAUL UNIVERSITY
The DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, offers an MS in Data Science. It can be pursued on-campus or online.
3. NEW YORK UNIVERSITY
The New York University offers a Master’s in Science program in data sciences. It requires on-campus attendance. Data science, natural language processing, mathematics, and data, big data, and physics are some of the concentrations offered.
4. ROCHESTER UNIVERSITY
The University of Rochester offers an MS degree in Data Science through the Goergen Institute for Data Science. The campus is in Rochester, New York, and requires on-campus attendance.
5. COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
Columbia University in the City of New York has a dedicated Data Science Institute via which it offers an MS degree in Data Science. Smart cities, health analytics, computing systems for data-driven science, and cybersecurity are some of the concentrations offered, among many others.
6. CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY
The Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania offers a Master’s in Computation Data Science through it’s Tepper School of Business. It requires on-campus attendance.
7. THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY
The Master of Information and Data Science program is offered by the University of California in Berkeley. It is offered entirely through an online curriculum.
8. JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
The Whiting School of Engineering at Johns Hopkins University offers a Master of Science degree in Data Science. The campus is in Baltimore, Maryland.
9. UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE
The University of Melbourne in Melbourne, Australia, offers a Masters in Data Science program with a background in either computer science or statistics or both.
10. MONASH UNIVERSITY
Monash University in Australia offers a Master of Science in Data Science program in its campus in Melbourne, Australia. It had both a full-time and a part-time curriculum with June and November intakes.
11. UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada offers a Master of Science program in Data Sciences through its Graduate School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
12. UNIVERSITY OF AUCKLAND
The Master of Science program offered by the University of Auckland in New Zealand is both a full-time and a part-time curriculum.
13. UNIVERSITY OF WARWICK
A Master of Science degree is offered by the University of Warwick in England. It is associated with the Alan Turing Institute, which happens to be UK’s national institute for data science.
14. LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCES
The Master of Science degree in Data Science offered by the London School of Economics is a full-time on-campus master’s degree offered in it’s London campus.
15. UNIVERSITY OF LONDON
The University of London offers a Master of Science degree in data science via an online curriculum. It can either be a full-time degree or a part-time one based on module availability.
There are also several online data science programs that are offered by third-party platforms such as Coursera and edX after valuable tie-ups with top universities such as Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania among many others.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A DATA SCIENTIST AND A DATA ANALYST
The main difference between the field of data science and data analytics is that the role of a data analyst requires a person to run a query against new data and then analyze the trends in it. They are ones to prepare data for a data scientist. It is the data analysts who are responsible for the collection and organization of data. They must organize it into charts, graphs, and diagrams so that they are all easily comprehensible. Data analysts are also responsible for the creation of rational databases for storing data effectively in electronic and/or cloud systems. Based on their skill sets, a data analyst can be divided into 4 big roles – data architect, data administrator, analytics engineer, and operations. On average, a data analyst in the US earns upwards of $75,000.
A data scientist is entrusted with the responsibility of understanding and analyzing data from a business point of view. They are the ones who make the final decisions and predictions about the possible future conditions of a firm. They make recommendations to the management so that their suggestions can be incorporated into the decision making process. They must prepare models using the methods of machine learning for the further development plans of the organization. This is why they must work closely with a data analyst in order to be able to build models that are easily comprehensible. Again, the work of a data scientist can further be divided into 4 main roles – data researcher, data developer, data creatives, data businesspeople.
On a final note, we would like to say that a Master’s degree program in Data Science is the right choice for you if you are somebody who takes an immense interest in statistics and computer programming. It is a roaring career in the present times with numerous growth opportunities in the future so you have nothing to worry about when looking for a job opportunity. If you can learn the basic concepts well and apply your knowledge smartly, there is no limit to the unmounted heights you can reach in your career.
