When was the last time you picked up your phone and scrolled through your Instagram feed? Checked out a story on Snapchat? Bought something from Amazon?
你上一次拿起手机浏览Instagram是什么时候?看了Snapchat上的一篇报道?从亚马逊买东西了吗?

Well, what you might not have realized is the driver of every one of those applications is data.
你可能还没有意识到这些应用程序的驱动力都是数据。

And, in order to stay relevant, companies are using said data to predict what will be the next big thing. The people at the center of all that action? Data scientists.
而且,为了保持相关性,各公司会使用这些数据来预测下一个大事件。所有这些行动的中心人物是谁?数据科学家。

So, it’s no wonder that a 2012 report in the Harvard Business Review dubbed the profession “the sexiest job of the 21st century.”
因此,难怪2012年《哈佛商业评论》的一份报告称这一职业为“21世纪最迷人的工作”。

It is forecasted that demand for data scientists will soar by 28% by 2020, as companies collect data from a wide variety of sources and need to analyze them to provide better outcomes: clicks online, household water meters, food shopping purchases, health records. But, simply gathering data isn’t enough. Somebody needs to make sense of all those numbers and find patterns to work with. Which is what data scientists do, they analyze data for patterns and use history as a predictor for future outcomes.
据预测,到2020年,对数据科学家的需求将猛增28%,因为公司从各种各样的来源收集数据,包括在线点击、家用水表记录、食品购买记录和健康记录等,并需要对收集到的数据进行分析,希望可以提供更好的结果。但是,仅仅收集数据是不够的。需要有人弄清楚所有这些数据并找到可以使用的模型。这就是数据科学家所做的工作,他们分析数据的模型,并用历史数据作为未来结果的预测指标。

So, now that we’re clear on what a data scientist does and how sexy it is, how do you become one?
那么,既然我们已经清楚了数据科学家的工作是什么,以及它有多迷人,那么你要如何才能成为一名数据科学家呢?

Must Love Data
必须热爱数据

It might sound obvious, but to be a data scientist, you have to love data, says Mary L., Data Scientist at New York Life. Mary was always good at math and admits she was “basically married to the math department” in high school.
纽约人寿的数据科学家玛丽说,这听起来很明显,但要成为一名数据科学家,你必须热爱数据。玛丽一直都很擅长数学, 她曾经说过,在高中时 "基本上嫁给了数学系"

Jeremy B., from New York Life’s Enterprise Data Management team, says his passion for data started when he began predicting problems in a prior company’s platform so that issues could be fixed proactively.
来自纽约人寿企业数据管理团队的杰瑞米说,他对数据的热情始于他为了能够主动地解决问题而开始预测前一家公司平台上的问题的时候。 

While Mary appreciates that her colleagues are from different cultures and training backgrounds from financial mathematics to actuarial science, they are all united by their love of data. Mary herself was a statistician long before the term data scientist became popular and she suggests that being comfortable working with data is arguably the most important aspect of the job.
尽管玛丽意识到她的同事来自不同的文化和培训背景,从金融数学到精算科学,但他们都因热爱数据而团结在一起。早在“数据科学家”这个术语流行起来之前玛丽就是一名统计学家。她认为舒适地处理数据可以说是这项工作最重要的方面。

However, Jeremy advises potential would-be data scientists to add programming to their toolset if they can: “there are skills that could be refined and developed around programming, whether that’s [by learning] different languages like Java or Python or even the ability to go through and write standard SQL queries.”
不过,杰里米建议那些潜在的数据科学家在可能的情况下将编程添加到他们的工具集中:“有一些技能可以围绕编程进行改进和开发,不管是是(通过学习)Java或Python等不同的语言,或者甚至通过阅读和编写标准SQL查询的能力。” 

 
Stand Out in a Crowd
在人群中脱颖而出 

Standing out in a pool of applicants is always a good thing and that holds true for jobs in data science, too.
在众多申请者中脱颖而出总是件好事,数据科学领域的工作也是如此。

Jeremy points out that because data science is still a nascent field, there is no standard for what one needs to know to be successful in the industry. “What we’re really looking for is people who are intellectually curious,” he says, “folks who are willing to dig deeper, who continue to want to make themselves and the company better through advances in data technologies.”
杰里米指出,因为数据科学仍然是一个新兴领域,所以没有标准来衡量一个人需要知道什么才能在这个行业中取得成功。他说:“我们真正要找的是那些有求知欲的人,那些愿意深入挖掘的人,那些继续希望通过数据技术的进步,让自己和公司变得更好的人。”

At New York Life, for example, since data scientists work with colleagues who have different backgrounds, they bring their own perspectives to the table, which is always valued, Raul H., from the Customer Relationship Management team at New York Life says. At the end of the day, it “comes down to having a passion for data and actually wanting to dig in, pull data sets apart, and really become an expert on the data set that you’re evaluating,” Jeremy adds.
例如,纽约人寿的客户关系管理团队的劳尔说,在纽约人寿,数据科学家与有着不同背景的同事一起工作,他们会把自己的观点带到桌面上,这一直以来都受到重视。在一天结束的时候,杰里米补充说道,这“归结为对数据的热爱,并且实际上想要深入挖掘,把数据集分开,真正成为你正在评估的数据集的专家,”。

The bottom line: Much like other jobs, you can stand out by showing you’re a team player and are willing to get down in the trenches and get your hands dirty.
总而言之:就像其他工作一样,你可以通过表现出你是一个有团队精神的人,并且愿意深入战壕,弄脏双手,从而脱颖而出。

Above all, you must have a passion for data. It’s the only way to mold your career in a booming, evolving and yes, sexy, field. 
最重要的是,你必须对数据充满热情。这是在一个蓬勃发展,迷人的领域里塑造你的职业生涯的唯一途径。

 

(翻译:雅兰)