How to choose between software engineering and data science | 5 Key Considerations

Software Engineering vs Data Science? Last year, I made a choice between a software engineering and a data science position. In this video, I outline 5 key considerations that helped me choose between software engineering and data science. Hopefully it helps you make the choice as well!

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Hi, my name is Tina and I'm a data scientist at a FAANG company. I was pre-med studying pharmacology at the University of Toronto until I finally accepted that I would make a terrible doctor. I didn't know what to do with myself so I worked for a year as a research assistant for a bioinformatics lab where I learned how to code and became interested in data science. I then did a masters in computer science (MCIT) at the University of Pennsylvania before ending up at my current job in tech :)

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[TinaHuang]

Do you resonate more with software engineering or data science? Let me know in the comments below!

[IBFA-xziz]

You are the chill girl in every class who says she hasn't studied for exam but tops the whole college

[migueldiazcabrera]

Great explanation: "building products vs discovering insights"

[darktealglasses]

Software Engineering VS. Data Scientist
1. Building vs. Discovering
2. Clearly-defined vs. Interdisciplinary
3. Well-defined career progression vs. Flexibility
4. Coding as passion vs. Coding as a skill
5. Lower vs. Higher entrance barriers

[jakehickman]

This helped me realise that I am more interested in building things rather than discovering them. What a great and informative video, thank you Tina!

[Ibraheem_ElAnsari]

Thank you for that comment on screen saying " I almost gave up, please don't give up ... " I needed that. Thanks a lot I definitely will not

[skyezer]

As someone who is working in the Data Analytics side, I wholeheartedly agree with this. Data science is a new field which basically supports or optimizes how to do business. Software engineering leans more on building software or applications where normal people can use/consume. If you want to create your own business in the tech industry, software engineering should be necessary. If you want to support existing businesses, data science is the way.

I'm planning to create my own business on the food industry and I can see that data science can help it a lot.

[thomaswolff]

I have a masters of data science but once I started working in a data position, I have realized that I enjoy more of the coding and building. Whether its writing Python, SQL, or R code for building and analyzing data, or building reports in SSRS, those are the aspects of my job that I most enjoy. I have been considering changing careers to software engineering. Also, I do feel like data scientists are expected to know too much these days. From communication, data visualization, statistics and deep learning, to cloud platforms, Spark and now Docker. That is a ton of skill and knowledge that seems super-human!

[Kenjutsuga]

This is the most systematic and detailed review of any of the two careers I’ve ever seen. Thanks for this video, it definitely helped in finding my next step!

[DennyPiza]

I've never seen such a clear distinction between the roles. Thank you for the great explanation!

[katos]

I've been asking myself this Q for the last month, and you made it clearer in 7 min! Thank you! :)

[owlcatxx]

What a great level-headed and helpful video! Thank you for making it and for sharing insights from your own experience

[baekimin]

This is exactly what i need!! I’ve been torn between these two. Thank you so much for your great video

[mohaimenhasan]

This is amazing. Thank you so much for covering all the points so well Tina. I found it really really really helpful

[afrodeveloper]

I found this video to be extremely helpful. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[JimmyLi]

I love the points you made, Tina! You're making great content, keep it up!

[LukeBarousse]

This is great! I enjoyed hearing your perspective on the differences! Keep up the content!

[jupyter]

Thank you so much! Really good video, it helped me a lot. Keep up the good content!

[lianhuang]

Thank you so much! It was exactly what I needed on this fork in the road between SWE and DS roles

[EnGardeLoL]

Thanks for the informative video! Just a caveat on the salary comparison: data science often requires graduate-level education (Master's or PhD)/considers it an asset whereas software engineers do not. Or, if without a graduate degree, it's not uncommon to work as a Data Analyst for 1-2 years before becoming a Data Scientist. So while the average salary may be higher for Data Scientists, there's likely some additional education/work experience factored in.