Mapping Your Career: Top 6 Data-Driven Jobs to Choose

We're living in an era where the quality and quantity of data are expanding exponentially. As a result, new professions are emerging constantly. In the near future, regardless of the career you pursue, you'll need to leverage data to make effective decisions.

Whether or not you choose databases as your specialty or not, building up skills in this area would be advantageous for your career. Knowing how to access and analyze data puts you ahead of the game, whether you're planning to be an IT professional, a scientific researcher, or a finance expert.

What Kind of Data-Driven Careers Are Popular?

In this article, we are concentrating on job descriptions that appear in the US Bureau of Labor Statistics' annual report. We’ll mention a few other job titles to show how they fit in and include salary ranges taken from the same report.

Data-driven careers fall into four main areas:

• Manage the data storage.
• Develop processes to collect data and make it available in a usable form.
• Analyze the data.
• Protect the data.

Managing Data

This area covers a wide range of professions, with most of them leaning toward one or another of the general job descriptions. Let's take a look at these categories.?

Database Administrator

If you choose this career path, you'll need a thorough understanding of databases, including how to create them, make changes to the structure, and monitor and tune performance to make sure there are no bottlenecks. You'll be responsible for:?

• Making sure the database design adapts to changing requirements.?
• Ensuring backup and security procedures are in place.?
• Forward planning to make sure enough disk space is available for expansion.?
• Controlling who has access to which areas of the data.

You'll make extensive use of Python and SQL in this career to create, manipulate, monitor, and performance-tune the database.

In last year's salary survey, database administrators earned between US$53K and US$153K annually, with a mean annual wage of US$102K.

Database Architect

This job title is similar to and often overlaps with the role of database engineer. Your job would include designing a database strategy for a large enterprise and setting standards for database-related processes. You’d set performance targets, define how they would be met, and make sure security policies are in place.

A deep understanding of SQL is needed; you'd use it to design the database, create and test prototypes, and set up monitoring procedures. Python is also useful here, as it can be used for scripting, and integrating databases with other applications or web services.

According to the salary survey, database architects earned between US$74K and US$197K annually, with a mean annual wage of US$136K.

Working as a database administrator is one way of preparing for this role.

Develop Processes

Raw data often needs a lot of processing and manipulation to get it into a usable form. It may originate in many places: web forms, RSS feeds, or output from sensors. All of these must be programmed to work with the data correctly and send the data in the right format to the proper storage area.?

Software Developer

Other titles you may encounter in this area are computer programmer, database developer, and software engineer. Although duties and salaries vary, these all refer to a similar career path.

You'll need to learn at least one general-purpose programming language, like Python, and you'll also need to know SQL to be able to communicate with databases. Your job will include designing, coding, and testing the programs needed to process data.

The salary report shows an annual salary range of US$71K to US$198K for this role, with a mean salary of US$132K.

Analyzing Data

Data analysis forms a part of many different careers. Marketing specialists, business consultants, and researchers in various fields need skills in this area if they are to make informed decisions. A good understanding of database concepts, SQL, Python, and data visualization tools will help you in almost any career.?

Below are two of the many careers you could consider in this area.

Data Scientist

As a data scientist, you'll use SQL, Python, or other data-oriented programming languages and visualization software. You will develop applications to extract the information needed for decision-making. Your skills will include techniques such as data mining and data modeling, and you'll need a good understanding of how data is stored.

In the salary survey, the salary range for this job is US$58K to US$174K, with a mean salary of US$115K.

Market Research Analyst

In this career, you'll gather information from many different sources to understand customers, determine the viability of products and services, and plan marketing campaigns.

Your data may come from the company's own data sets, web metrics, Google Analytics, and competitors' public data, so you'll need to understand a wide range of data access techniques. You'll need a good understanding of SQL, database concepts, Python scripting, and some basics of machine learning alongside data visualization and presentation tools.

The salary report lists the annual salary range as US$38K to US$131K, with a mean salary of US$78K.

Protecting Data

Since data is an extremely valuable asset, organizations need to have procedures in place to protect the data against accidental loss, malicious attacks, unauthorized access, and natural disasters.

Information Security Analyst

In this job, you'll be responsible for setting up security procedures. You'll need to understand the various types of threats and keep up to date on the latest protection mechanisms. You'll make sure that proper monitoring processes are in place and look at strategies for risk mitigation.?

The earnings for this career are in the range of US$66K to US$174K, with a mean salary of US$119K.

What Skills Are Needed for a Data-Driven Career?

Technical Skills

Obviously, the skill set will be different for each of the careers I've mentioned, but the core skills include:

• A good understanding of databases and data storage techniques.
• A knowledge of at least one general-purpose programming language, like Python.??
• An in-depth knowledge of SQL, since this is the common language for almost all data-related processes.
• An understanding of data privacy and data security concepts
• An understanding of how computers work, how they process and store data and the terminology used.

Soft Skills

It's becoming more important for employers to look at a candidate's soft skills as well as their qualifications when evaluating job applications.

The kind of soft skills that you need to develop for a data-driven career include:

• Problem-solving.
• Listening Skills.?
• Communication Skills.?
• Teamwork.?

Data-Driven Career: Start with the basics

Since Python and SQL are essential for forging a successful career in any field that involves data manipulation. Thus, mastering these languages is a wise investment in your future. To assist you in your career journey, we are offering SQL Practice set in PostgreSQL and Python Basics Part 1 courses completely FREE.??

Each course is based on real-world challenges, requiring you to write your own code right from the start.?

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