Should you become a Data Analyst to become a Data Scientist?

Is data analyst a pre-requisite to become a data scientist? In this video, we are discussing common skillset between the two roles and what makes them different. What do you think? Share in comments if you think data scientist should first become data scientist.

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DATA ANALYTICS

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0:00 intro
0:37 data analyst & data scientist skills
4:54 which career is best for you?
7:09 misconceptions in data science ladder

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ABOUT ME
I'm Sundas. I'm a self-taught data scientist from a non-tech background, currently at a FAANG company. I have been in the industry for over 8 years spread across two big tech companies. On this channel, I share tips for people interested in entering data science with the goal to democratize knowledge and make complicated topics digestible for everyone. All opinions are mine!

PS. Some of the links included are affiliate links and help me keep this channel going. Thanks for the support.

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[anapslima]

Thank you for the video! I’m a data analyst and I realized that I would enjoyed more being a data analyst rather than a data scientist. With data analysis I can deliver value quicker for the business, responding hot topics with more agility when compared to data science, it is easier to impact the day-to-day decisions, besides that, I don’t need to have all the advanced knowledge in development and modeling, which are more technical and could take my attention of the business, which is what I like the most. As always, there is a downside, being a data analyst my salary is lower and despite generating value quickly, it is not always the most impactful when compared to the data scientist deliveries.

[priyadoesdatascience]

Very Informative Video! Thanks for sharing. I was a data analyst and am now a data scientist. I highly agree that the data analyst role is not a prerequisite to getting a data scientist position. However, entry-level data scientist positions sometimes require some form of data analytics experience from the candidates. In such a case, a candidate can be benefitted from the data analyst experience. The best message is that each role can grow in its own area. Both data analysts and scientists can grow from entry-level to senior positions and eventually build and manage their own teams. Please share more videos like that

[callmeinfidel]

I'm structuring my learning path of progressing from data analyst to data scientist. I don't disagree with your presentation that the analyst step is not a necessary step, but it seems to me that analyst to scientist is a legitimate pathway. Basically, the data scientist has to know everything the analyst knows plus more things. It seems like a logical progression.

[terran]

Thank you for the video. I’m actually facing the same conundrum, I want to start as a data scientist but finding a job in that field is very difficult, specially when you don’t have a master. I have already done some personal projects in ML, computer vision and even NLP. But still, a career advisor told me that since I only have a bachelor in IT and some experience in BI it might be better to start as data analyst, some other people suggested me starting as a data engineer.. it’s confusing

[geenuh]

I’ve watched a lot of your videos and always appreciate your insight but thank you for this specific video! I am a data analyst who started a data science certification and realized I didn’t enjoy it as much. Appreciate the validation that data analyst end game doesn’t have to be scientist

[UniquelyM]

Pre-requisite no but I do think being a data analyst or business analyst are really good transitions into data science since a lot of companies are looking for someone with years of analytics experience (some requiring specifically data science background using ML and statistical analysis). That’s probably my biggest hurdle getting to become a data scientist is not already having the experience companies want so trying to use transferable skills from my analytics background is the only way I know to make this pivot to a data scientist as well as formal schooling (getting a masters)

[seemabyamin]

I really love to watch this one as I am doing the same by first achieving data analyst and then move forward as it's almost impossible to get data science internships from where I belong.

[LuisRomaUSA]

From my experience, excluding research data scientist and ML engineers, companies named the role interchangeably. Always get an idea of what the role will be like when you apply

[syhusada]

I'm a singer-songwriter and pulled towards data science because of its ability to investigate patterns and truth and express them in ways considered to be more serious than arts. The investigative aspect reflects more with DS, but the expressing part is more align with DA. I don't know what to do.

[umangrana]

All notifications related to your videos always gives me excitement!!

[agneskrzy]

I am in data analyst role and we also do complex modelling so we do have to understand advance level of statistic/ math. We also use predictive modelling that can then feed into ML. It’s all depending on the role I guess and the industry. Some of my friends call themself data analysts but they use only excel and and PowerPoint……

[utkarshujwal]

Well, as you have nicely highlighted in the video... Both the streams though similar to some extent aren't the same in their entirety.

But one downside which I have seen for the newcomers or aspiring data scientists is the fact that companies demand professional with 3-5 yrs of experience working with data for the post of Jr Data Scientist (which is like totally unfair)

And it is in the wake of this that many newcomers have to spend the initial years as a data analyst so that they can apply for these posts.

The recruiters themselves have no idea as to what to look for and have crazy expectations from the newbies applying for the job (which isn't possible for a newbie)

[johnspringer]

I initially thought being an analyst was a leg up going in the direction of data science. However, since researching data science I see clearly that it's not a pre requisite. I belive becoming a DATA SCIENTIST will provide me the skills and resources to benefit urban communities where people are at a disadvantage and need not to be left behind as technology continues to evolve. I will be digging through your material to become a self-taught Data Scientist!!!

[jankipanchal]

Thank you for the video! In Industries people are still considering the same job description for Data Analyst as well as Data Scientist. And as per the requirements they are assigning the roles. In my journey also I have face struggle getting in to Data Science as upper leadership are telling to get experience in analytics first and then advance analytics. So the concept is differ from industry to industry.

[isaactucker-rasbury]

Hmmm, so I agree with you on the point that I don’t think data scientist is the natural next role for a data analyst.

Where I veer off though is that it feels like it is…the average salary of a data scientist is roughly equal to if not more than an average senior data analyst (looking at Glassdoor and coursers). With the compensation structure like that it feels like the market values their skills more and incentives pursuing that kind of work. 😬

[luciusnguyen]

I don't think DA is a pre-requisite for DS too but given an average person who wants to break into a field, do they have other options? I'm talking about the people who have no internship experiences in the field at University, they cannot apply for a DS role directly on their own. Therefore, their only option is to become a DA first

But I'm really interested to know if there are any other roles that closely resembles data scientist roles that also accept entry-level candidate? I know you were a Data Engineer before becoming a DS, is this a good option too?

[kahfilakib]

Now-a-days the field of Data Science has become so matured and competitive that securing an internship position requires a lot of analytical and predictive skills. And most of those skills cover the Data Analytics skill sets i.e., SQL, Python, data mining, big data, spark, hadoop, applied statistics etc. Some of the job postings also require having experience in Data Analysis too. So whether it is a pre requisite or not, to secure an entry level position in data science field one has to know all the skillsets of a data analyst except the visualization part.

[janoos]

This is perhaps the most useful video I have seen on this topic. Thanks as always Sundas. One question I have though is as a data analyst what would one need to do in order to become a data scientist. You did briefly touch up on this but a more detailed explanation would be helpful.

[adventurouskidsnetwork]

To sum it all up, if you want to answer a lot of questions, then you'll make a good data scientist. And if you want to answer just a few questions with high accurancy, then go for statistics. And if you don't know how many questions you want to answer, then you're most likely to be a data analyst. :D

[sajaibrahim]

Such an informative video. Thank you for clearing many of my doubts.