If you think there’s no connection between home improvements and big data, think again. Today, big data is a big deal – especially if you’re looking for employment.
Few would argue that technology has raced ahead of the ability to analyse the information we generate. A tidal wave of big data is upon most industry sectors. And with it, a whole new world of opportunity has opened up for business to boom, and data analysts and IT data experts to thrive.
It’s being driven by developments that create the exchange and release of information, including the ‘internet of things’, where every day machines and objects are ‘connected’ and can generate data, to social media and communications traffic. Then there are financial transactions and medical records. Making sense of this mass of information is adding great value to business and society.
A study by the Royal Academy of Engineering shows that British industry will need 1.25 million new graduates in science, technology, engineering and maths subjects between now and 2020 to maintain current employment numbers in an ever-evolving market.
Data scientists will be as much in demand as the software developers of the dot-com boom and the Wall Street maths wizards of the Eighties. They’ll bring a crucial mix of technical coding skills, physics and maths phDs , and more esoteric expertise in fields like astrophysics. They’ll have a natural curiosity, a creative streak and a strong business sense.
Already, this talent has had an impact on today’s big web businesses. In the early LinkedIn days, for example, it was a data scientist who spotted the need for better information analysis to predict and help build people’s networks for them.
LinkedIn is more than a place for storing existing address book contacts, its key feature – “people you may know” – was born out of persistence and the insight of a data scientist. It has made LinkedIn the global phenomena it is today.
The UK has seen a decline in students with maths, science and computer skills. If you think you’ve got what it takes, take a look at the training available to you and enroll today!
