Do you have natural people skills ? You could be missing out on a career in Data Science!

Data Science is made up of several disciplines and has the added bonus of not being tied to a particular business or industry. Therefore it is a role that is 100% transferrable across industries and not reliant on years of SME knowledge. The focus is on having the ability to analyse data, understand user experience and ideate on the best product solutions to address the problem statements aligned to the relevant customer demographic.

What a lot of people do not realise is that unlike other technology aligned job families having strong people skills provides a huge advantage in becoming an effective Data Scientist. Already possessing theses key skills will set you apart from others that will need to learn these skills that sit outside of the technical curriculum. EQ is a difficult set of skills to teach and something that those of us known for being leaders of the 'Softer Skill Group' need to use to our advantage in this digital revolution.

Some Key Non Technical Skills that will make you a great Data Scientist and an asset to any digital transformation are:

1. Behavioural Science Skills - Have you ever wondered by some people are resilient and others crack under pressure? Do you observe peoples behaviours enough in everyday situations to read the situation and predict what comes next or turn the situation into a positive opportunity? Why do some people resist change, and yet others embrace innovation? If you have this intuition built in then put it to good use. Behavioural Science has the potential to revolutionise predictive capabilities. Behavioural Data Science is an emerging , interdisciplinary field which combines techniques from psychology , economics, sociology and business with computational approaches from computer science, statistics and data-centric engineering.
2. User Experience Skills - UX skills are no longer a niche skillset in today's digital world. Whether dealing with businesses or people in order to improve we constantly need to understand the experience others have. Insights into customers, colleagues and even personal relationships will allow you to ensure that everyone is working to a similar objective and are on the same page. I tend to be a person that gleans feedback on a regular basis in multiple areas of my life in order to ensure that I am aware when something has not worked or there is something I need to alter to get a better outcome. Working as a leader in an industry that is becoming younger I am always getting insights into how generation Z see my leadership style. It is important to me as a 45 year old woman not to become irrelevant in the industry I have spent 28 years in, but this is something that I do naturally because it is important to me. Imagine how effective applying that skill to the design of new applications where customer experience is at the forefront of driving value would be. If you instinctively look for improvement by walking in others shoes then a job in UX could be exactly what you need. The design skills can be learned but the people empathy and listening skills are hard to teach.
3. Communication Skills - Working in a diverse environment is an everyday occurrence now for many businesses. It is important for the growth and the positive culture of any business to understand that no everyone speaks the same language and when I use the word language I do not just mean your spoken language. For instance in a technology organisation if you want to glean information from an engineering department you must be able to speak and understand their terminologies. It is not just about the language you use but how you communicate with you team and your customers to ensure that all parties have the same understanding . Having strong communication skills is not just about how you convey a message but also how you receive one . In order to be a successful intermediary between the customer and the engineers being able to master the art of changing your communication methods is a key skill. Again not an easy skill to teach and yet some people do this so naturally as it is engrained in their personality and by doing so ensure that all parties have a positive communication experience which results in a positive outcome.
4. Time Management - The ability to hold people accountable is so important in business. In order to do this effectively a lot of thought has to go into managing peoples time in an efficient manner to get people to commit. In order to be a good Product Manager you must capture the audience at the right time and ensure that you keep the team on their toes. Good time management is not just about how you manage your time but other peoples as well to ensure the right outcomes. This requires enough understanding about the people you are interacting with to know when to interact with them and that requires observation and communication skills also. To gain buy-in and potential investment to develop data driven products you will need the ability to capture and maintain the attention of both the investors and the user base.
5. Prioritisation - It is important as a Data Scientist to have your priorities straight. You will be weighed down with questions all the time, which could be answered in a number of ways, so you need to determine which ones should be answered first. You also need to understand how much effort should be exerted in answering the question . If you can implement this discipline in your team then you can teach them how to prioritise their thinking and preferences.

If you believe that you possess these skills naturally and apply them to your daily life now then data science could be the career change you are looking for. Check out the link below (other courses are also available) to learn the technical side of data science... you are already half way there!!!

Check out DataCamp for details on entry level data science courses and certifications.