Speaker(s):  Mark Whitehorn 

Duration: 60 minutes

Track: Advanced Analytics and Insights

According to the Harvard Business Review*, data scientist is “The sexiest job of the 21st Century.” However, other definitions include, “An analyst who lives in California.” So what is the truth? Is “data science” really a valuable job or marketing hype?
This session will argue that the skills a good data scientist possesses are real and will explain why that particular combination of talents is so valuable. We’ll cover exactly what those skills are during the session, but here is a taste: Data scientists have the ability to take a set of complex data (very often, big data) and find the complex patterns hidden therein. This often involves rapid prototyping and coding in a variety of languages (Java, R, MDX, Erlang). Data scientists have a good statistical background, excellent data visualization skills, and the ability to communicate their ideas clearly to a non-technical audience. Oh, and did I mention curiosity?
* http://hbr.org/2012/10/data-scientist-the-sexiest-job-of-the-21st-century/ar/1