Re:Why becoming a data scientist is not easier than you think
by marshallp on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @04:40AM
(#4658891)
The evidence that is coming out from kaggle doesn't support the claim of teams with experienced specialized skill. Teams of a single student have beat out entire industry of companies (the essay score competition for example).
Re:Why becoming a data scientist is not easier than you think
by achompas on Tuesday October 16, 2012 @11:35AM
(#4660259)
Kaggle competitors work on small data sets, so algorithmic problems don't really surface there.
Just because your algorithm can "beat" an industry's worth of work doesn't mean it can be implemented in a practical or efficient way.
Really knowing your stuff in either one of those fields is hard, knowing them very well and knowing enough computer science to apply it all (properly) is more the work of a small team than a single individual.
People like that are rare. There is nothing stopping anybody from calling themselves 'data scientist'. Just like there is nothing stopping anybody from calling themselves software architect or system administrator.
In the end that's just people marketing themselves as good as they know how but that does not mean there isn't a sliding scale between warm body and excellence. I think that is the distinction the article tries to make.