What Major for Career in Data Science/Analytics?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is becoming very interested in a career in the data science field. The colleges that he will likely choose between do not offer a "Data Science" major.

Should he major in Computer Science and minor in Statistics? Or should he major in Statistics and minor in Computer Science? Does anyone have any knowledge or career experience to share?

Not giving you a bad time, but why would your child consider a school that may not have the field of study related to career goals?

OP here. We live in VA, and he got into VA Tech College of Engineering and was waitlisted at UVA. I suppose there is still a chance that he could get accepted at UVA and apply for the Data Science major, but it seems to be a slim one.

I appreciate all of the different opinions. The CMDA major sounds perfect on paper, but the courses on the published flowchart do not look very rigorous to me when compared to CS/Stat majors/minors. He already taken a lot of those classes already through AP and post-AP. The idea of CMDA with CS minor might need to be explored by him.

He could apply rolling admission to Penn State for their Data Science major, but is it worth an extra $15,000 per year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work with data scientists and the best ones have physics backgrounds, or computational biology. I would choose a field like that rather than data science.

The person who posted about AI is right. We use a ton of AI and it is a threat to these jobs—not just in the future, in the next few years.

Super helpful to know. Can you provide a little more context? What industry are you in and/or how do data scientists help you/your organization? What's their function/role? How does their work get utilized?

We've been talking about this at home a lot lately - considering how AI currently can (and can not) engage data and analytics more effectively than skilled labor, and how that's likely going to evolve over time. Our sense is that there will always be a need for skilled people in this space, but it would be helpful to hear how they distinguish themselves.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I lead a team of ~40 data scientists. We hire out of T20 universities and SLACs for econometrics, physics, math, and computer science. We look for critical thinking, communication, and high GPA. We can teach the syntax; we can't teach the curiosity or diligence. I would recommend avoiding data science programs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DS is becoming very interested in a career in the data science field. The colleges that he will likely choose between do not offer a "Data Science" major.

Should he major in Computer Science and minor in Statistics? Or should he major in Statistics and minor in Computer Science? Does anyone have any knowledge or career experience to share?

Not giving you a bad time, but why would your child consider a school that may not have the field of study related to career goals?

OP here. We live in VA, and he got into VA Tech College of Engineering and was waitlisted at UVA. I suppose there is still a chance that he could get accepted at UVA and apply for the Data Science major, but it seems to be a slim one.

I appreciate all of the different opinions. The CMDA major sounds perfect on paper, but the courses on the published flowchart do not look very rigorous to me when compared to CS/Stat majors/minors. He already taken a lot of those classes already through AP and post-AP. The idea of CMDA with CS minor might need to be explored by him.

He could apply rolling admission to Penn State for their Data Science major, but is it worth an extra $15,000 per year?

If he's already in at VT engineering it makes no sense to go to Penn State. He could do a double major of CS + CMDA. CMDA = "data science" at VT. It's the undergraduate major in their "Academy of Data Science."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Operations Research
Operations Engineering
Industrial Engineering

Not all schools have these majors, but they tend to include flexibility to take the core analytic skills in different directions depending on the student's interests. To me, this is key as those interests will likely evolve over time, and I would want the opportunity to explore as I go.

These majors also include some education re the human side of decision-making, data, analytics, and operations. Always good for those with interests beyond the technical side (not that there's anything wrong with that, but straight technical is not for everyone.)

Yup. I double majored in information systems and operations research years ago, and it was solid foundation for a career in data science.

[Anonymous]

As a seasoned data scientist with approximately 8 years of experience, I currently hold a managerial position overseeing a team of data scientists. Amid our ongoing recruitment efforts for an entry-level analyst, we have observed a trend wherein individuals with computer science backgrounds are attempting to transition into this role. Regrettably, such candidates typically do not meet our criteria for interview consideration.

Primarily, we prioritize candidates with academic backgrounds in disciplines such as mathematics, statistics, economics, industrial engineering, or even political science, provided they demonstrate a robust proficiency in programming. Therefore, I would advise prospective candidates to pursue educational paths such as Economics with a minor in Computer Science, Statistics with a minor in Computer Science, or even Physics with a minor in Economics, as these combinations align more closely with our hiring preferences.

Me: Math major + Econ minor.. MS in Data Science + MBA

[Anonymous]

+1

[Anonymous]

My kid just graduated and got a job where he is labeled a Data Scientist. He majored in Engineering with a minor in Applied Math & Statistics and took a lot of CS classes. (He also got really lucky with getting an internship that turned into a job offer.)

I think there are many paths.

[Anonymous]

Another piece of info for considering paths at VT -- in their first destination report you can see what jobs different majors get -- CS vs CMDA vs Statistics.
https://fds.career.vt.edu/EmployerList/ChoiceN?cohort=2021-2022

CS major job titles (there are a lot more of these) are heavily in software engineer or software developer jobs. CMDA and Statistics job titles include some of that but also a lot of data scientist, data engineer, data consultant, analyst.

[Anonymous]

Computer Science
Data Science
Data Analytics
Business Analytics

[Anonymous]

Statistician here working in Data Science last 15 years. I'd say a degree in Applied Statistics or Operations Research would serve you well. However, like pp said earlier, some of these jobs are definitely going to go. I have kids in high school now and I'm definitely not recommending this path for them.

[Anonymous]

For PP, what fields are you recommending to your high schoolers?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Statistician here working in Data Science last 15 years. I'd say a degree in Applied Statistics or Operations Research would serve you well. However, like pp said earlier, some of these jobs are definitely going to go. I have kids in high school now and I'm definitely not recommending this path for them.

I’m an Operations Research guy, and OR is usually not found as an undergraduate degree. OR people are interested in statistics primarily for fitting observed data to common distributions for queueing theory; reliability, maintainability, and availability; inventory control; and simulation.

Data Science is kind of a three or four pronged thing. Finding and extracting data, performing manipulation on the data to make the data valid for analysis, performing the analysis, and presenting the results.

Statistics is probably best for the two middle steps. CS is probably best for the first step. And something like Visual Journalism is good for the last step. For more on Visual Journalism - which doesn’t get much play when discussing data science here - refer to Alberto Cairo at the University of Miami.

Finally, CS is probably best for wrapping the whole thing in a pipeline for deployment.

[Anonymous]

This is one of the few areas where I think an MPH could make sense.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Computer Science
Data Science
Data Analytics
Business Analytics

My kid is Business Analytics major at a T20 school. Sophomore and got a good Summer internship for Data Analytics position in DMV