A citizen data scientist is a data or analytics professional who creates data visualizations using diagnostic analytics and analyzes them to make executive business decisions. The term ‘citizen data scientist’ was coined by Gartner, the analyst and research firm.
What is data science?
Data science is an interdisciplinary field of science that deals with the extraction of knowledge from data in order to optimize corporate management or to support decision-making.
The goal is to generate information from large amounts of data in order to derive recommendations for corporate management and businesses. These recommendations then help improve the quality of business decisions and the efficiency of work processes.
In data science, methods and knowledge from various areas such as mathematics, statistics, stochastics, computer science and industry know-how are used.
The role of a citizen data scientist
Citizen data scientists lie somewhere in between a business user using self-service analytics and a data scientist who is well versed in advanced analytics. They are tasked with delving into new data and analyzing it to discover patterns and trends.
They create and modify predictive models and even deploy additional models to gain insights. These scientists use models to then come up with imaginative solutions to problems.
Data scientists document their findings and communicate it with business and IT leaders. They also make recommendations to adapt existing business strategies and propose solutions to any business challenges that may arise.
They present their data using visualization techniques that are easy to understand and often collaborate with engineering or product development teams.
What are the responsibilities of a citizen data scientist?
- Delving into new data and analyzing it to discover patterns and trends
- Creating and modifying predictive models
- Deploying additional models to gain insights
- Using models to come up with imaginative solutions to problems
- Documenting the entire data extraction process
- Communicating information with business and IT leaders
- Making recommendations to adapt existing business strategies
- Proposing solutions to any business challenges that may arise
- Presenting data using visualization techniques that are easy to understand
- Collaborating with engineering or product development teams
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The skills of a citizen data scientist
Citizen data scientists are called as such because they are reskilled into Big Data analysts. They have knowledge of data models and statistics and are proficient in at least one programming language.
These scientists understand a business’s vision and mission and are able to extract and present data that can propel its needs. They also have the ability to apply math and statistics appropriately.
They have strong analytical skills and are able to perform fairly complex data analysis on a daily basis. They are also able to visualize data and are able to proactively solve any problem that may arise.
These scientists have strong communication and a natural intellectual curiosity. They also have the ability to understand the business side of things and are able to translate data into results that work for the organization.
What are the skills of a citizen data scientist?
- Knowledge of data models and statistics
- Proficiency in at least one programming language
- Understanding a business’s vision and mission
- Extracting and presenting data that can propel a business’s needs
- Applying mathematics and statistics when needed
- Strong analytical skills
- Ability to perform fairly complex data analysis
- Ability to visualize data
- Being able to proactively solve problems
- Strong communication skills
- Intellectual curiosity
- Ability to translate data into results
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Background
The quickest way to becoming a citizen data scientist is by reskilling or upskilling yourself with your employer. You do not necessarily need to have a Bachelor’s degree in anything specific however, if you come from an adjacent background like programming or software development, working as a scientist might be easier for you.
On the other hand, if you’re not in an adjacent role, you can choose to take certification courses and undergo training. Check out a few options for these down below:
- IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
- Python for Data Science and Machine Learning Bootcamp
- Introduction to Data Science
- Data Science Specialization
- Data Scientist Course
Salary
The salary of a citizen data scientist varies according to the company they work in and the position they hold. Generally though, a scientist can earn anywhere from $88,000 to $107,000 per year. The average salary is $100,040.
In Germany, the salary range for citizen data scientists is €48,000-€80,000 whereas in the UK, the range is £34,000-£78,000.
How much do citizen data scientists make?
| Junior | $88,000 |
| Average | $100,040 |
| Senior | $107,000 |
How much do freelance citizen data scientists make?
citizen data scientists on freelancermap charge on average:
Rates in this field range between $33 and $106/hour for most freelancers.
The daily rate for citizen data scientists (8 working hours) would be around:
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Interesting. Data Scientist will be in more demand in coming days and there will be hug job opportunities for Data Scientist.
Data Scientist is the future. It has hug potential & high demand day by day. In fact Non IT people can also entered in to this field like a commerce graduate.