Comparison of the Data Analyst and Data Scientist Professions

Every time you send an email, post to Twitter, browse the web, or make an online transaction, you are creating data. As soon as you landed on this website, which tracks visitors, data was generated about you.

However, information found online is useless without context. Raw data is a collection of information like text or numbers that has not been processed in any way. For information to have value, it must be analysed.

The data analyst and the data scientist have arrived. These two jobs are at the forefront of the tech industry because they focus on helping us make sense of the massive amounts of data that are being produced by individuals.

When asked to define their profession, most people tend to start with "What is a Data Scientist?"

A data scientist is a person whose job it is to collect and analyse data in order to draw conclusions about an issue.

Let's say you want to become a data scientist at an online retailer. It would be your responsibility to compile and analyse information related to online store sales in order to gain insight into buyer habits.

You might, for instance, be tasked with researching the reasons shoppers abandon their carts with items still inside of them. You may learn more about the problem and how to fix it by keeping tabs on the percentage of potential buyers who abandon their carts.

Experimentation is a crucial part of a data scientist's work. While gathering data is essential, so is the ability to analyse a situation, identify its key aspects, and formulate a plan of action.