This is a question that many of us would want an answer to. Quite often, I tend to ask this question to myself. It is not a matter of self belief or confidence rather a very pertinent question which relates to ones interests, past experience, skill sets and mindset.
Before venturing in to answering this question, let me start of by defining my understanding about this beautiful field of Data Science. Data Science is an intersection of multiple fields namely Probability and Statistics, Computer Programming, Mathematical Computation and Algorithms and finally Database technologies. These are basically the raw materials to become a Data Scientist by theory.
However, to become a practical Data Scientist, these raw materials have to be complemented by a good amount of Domain Knowledge. Ultimately, the objective of a successful Data Scientist is to deliver tangible value to the businesses. This can only be achieved by combining business knowledge with the Data Science techniques. I have worked with a few data scientists in the past who have not been given any context to the problem at hand. This is one major mistake that organization tend to do. It is imperative that businesses involve data scientists at every step of the way as they not only help get answers from the data but ask right question in the first place.
Now coming back to the original question, here is my recipe for a successful Data Scientist:
1. Strong fundamentals in Math and Statistics
2. Interest in Computer Programming
3. A good perspective on how data is utilized in organizations in driving value
4. Last but not the least, passion to be successful and hunger to learn new things
If you are a successful data scientist or on course to become one, feel free to get in touch and I will be happy to collaborate!
Aditya
December 01, 2016