I cannot believe this.
With everybody running around with gadgets and spending plenty of time with online data, online games, new media etc., getting a job in data science should be a dream.
But look at this information from the UK: The popularity of data science careers is plummeting amongst 16 to 21 year olds, yet demand for data scientists and engineers has never been higher. For businesses trying to innovate, that spells trouble.
Employers could be facing future shortages of skilled digital professionals as the popularity of data science tumbles amongst young people.
Less than half (49 percent) of 16 to 21 year olds in the UK consider data science as a career option, according to a survey by analytics platform Exasol, despite young people possessing many skills that are ideal for careers in technology.
The research suggests that businesses and educators are alienating young people from the data science field because they’re not doing a good enough job of communicating the importance and application of data in easy-to-understand terms.
With demand for data scientists and engineers on the rise, organizations will find it increasingly difficult to innovate and stay competitive if they fail to encourage more people into these roles.
Data-driven decision-making is increasing in popularity and is having a growing impact on profitability, lowering organizations’ operating costs and improving business resiliency, particularly as we begin to emerge from the pandemic.
I am not sure that this situation also exists in the Philippines. It would be interesting to get feedback from the industries that need data scientists!
Maybe we need an AI-powered planning solution that augments human intelligence, so that our employees can spend less time manually aggregating data, and more time on analysis and higher-value work.
We all understand that if data science were to drop in popularity among young people, businesses will be in danger of missing out on new ways to solve their data challenges.
Businesses today rely heavily on data to help them identify challenges, capitalize on opportunities and make decisions that can impact their bottom line. As a result, demand for data scientists and data engineers has more than tripled since 2013.
Researchers found that young people may be unaware that they possess many of the skills and attributes applicable to jobs in data analysis, or that the skills they want to feature in their careers feature heavily in technical roles. This includes communication, decision-making, problem-solving, finding information, asking questions, telling stories and mathematics.
May be more work needs to be done when it comes to “selling” data science careers to young people. We need to bring data to life to make it more appealing and “human.”
The UK report concludes that employers need to better understand the skills they require to meet their talent and operational needs. But, as I have mentioned in previous columns regarding dealing with millennials and centennials, managers also have to learn how to deal with the new generations entering our companies; they have to understand that they have to become mentors and partners in moving companies forward.
In conclusion: This research was done outside the Philippines. Do we find the same phenomenon that students don’t want the hottest job in tech here? Your feedback is important.
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