Data Scientist vs Data Analyst: Which is the Better Career Choice?

Data Scientist vs Data Analyst - A Quick Guide to Your Choice in Tech Industry

If you are interested in a career that works with big data, two career paths that you may consider are Data Scientist and Data Analyst. Many assume that data scientist and data analyst are the same jobs but they are different roles. Data Scientist vs Data Analyst - Which is the better career choice? , this is a common query for anyone who is at the beginning of their career.

In recent years, data scientists and analysts have emerged as in-demand and high-paying jobs. Data scientists and Analysts have played a vital role in the immense growth of today’s business and research fields. Though both work with large chunks of data, they work differently.

When choosing any career, it is important to understand the job responsibilities and technical skills required for that specific job. We will learn about the job role and the technical skills required to become a Data Scientist and Data Analyst.

Data Scientist vs Data Analyst - Job Roles

What does a Data Scientist do?

Data scientists are skilled professionals that deal with unstructured data and draw valuable insights for business and research. They work on unstructured data using statistical techniques, data visualization techniques, and machine learning algorithms to develop AI models that can predict based on past patterns. Data scientists are more focused on designing new tools and different methods to extract data insights that can solve complex problems. Some of the critical roles that data scientists perform are:

Collecting, classifying, and processing raw data.

Identify specific data patterns or trends.

Develop Predictive models using Machine Learning algorithms.

Design tools that monitor and analyze data.

Build data visualizations and prepare detailed reports.

Write programs that automate the data collection process.

What does a Data Analyst do?

Data analysts collect data from various sources, to perform analysis on the collected data. They mostly work with structured data to solve complex business problems using statistical and logical techniques. Data analysts’ main responsibility is to extract useful information from the existing data. Some of the key responsibilities that data analysts perform are:

Communicating with business leaders to identify the information goals.

Write complex queries using SQL to relational databases.

Collaborating with other teams such as marketing, sales, database developers, etc.

Analyze large amounts of data sets to develop logical and reasonable relations between different data variables.

Spot trends and patterns in data and prepare reports that lead to strategic business decisions.

Extrapolate market research results of a company with a wide range of market trends.

Data Scientist vs Data Analyst - Technical Skills

Both job roles require mathematics, statistics, algorithms, and computer programming knowledge. Additionally, they require specific technical/programming skills as mentioned below:

Programming languages - Data scientists should be proficient in Python, R, Matlab, SAS, Hive, Pig, and Scala, whereas data analysts require core programming languages such as HTML and Javascript along with Python, SQL, and R.

Data visualization tools - Data analysts must know tools such as PowerBI, Tableau, and MS Excel. Data scientists use PowerBI for data visualization and Tableau for data storytelling.

Additionally, Data scientists require knowledge of machine learning and cloud computing. Overall, Data scientist is an advanced role of a data analyst.

Data Scientist vs Data Analyst Salaries in India

Data scientists and data analysts are among the high-paying careers in the tech industry. The salary range for a data scientist starts at Rs 3.6LPA for a fresher and hikes up to Rs 26LPA based on experience. The average annual salary of a data scientist in India is around Rs. 10LPA.

Entry level pay scale for a data analyst is around Rs. 3.5LPA and ranges up to Rs 18.9LPA for an experienced professional. The average salary of a data analyst in India is around Rs.9LPA

Final Note

We hope that you have understood the role of Data Scientists and Data analysts from this blog. If you are about to start your career, applying for internships is the best way to gain industry experience. Being an expert in Data scientist and data analyst requires constant practice and upskilling. To learn more about Data science skills, you should check out Advanced Data Science and Artificial Intelligence program, which gives you better career exposure.