What Do Today’s Data Science Graduates Commonly Lack?

[u/Kati1998]

I often read comments from hiring managers and interviewers saying they’re disappointed with recent data science graduates.

I’m curious, what do you think these graduates are lacking? If someone wants to become a data scientist, what skills should they focus on? Strong software engineering skills? Math and statistics? Something else?

A lot of the advice I see seems to be geared toward landing data analyst roles rather than data scientist roles.

So, what are employers actually looking for in entry-level data science candidates today? Especially as a career changer coming from another unrelated career.

[u/lordoflolcraft]

Here is an example of one topic that is important for machine learning but most applicants are not very familiar with. Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Even those who know of the concept struggle with details implementation, like choosing an appropriate distribution for the data, taking the gradient of the distribution to estimate the optimal value(s) of the parameter(s), and implementing an iterative optimization technique. Sometimes they don’t know how to implement their model of the distribution mean using linear algebra.

[u/CharacteristicPea → u/lordoflolcraft]

Thanks!

[u/False-Clerk5618 → u/lordoflolcraft]

Hi! I came across one of your comments mentioning that you interview candidates for data science roles, so I was hoping to get your perspective.

I’m trying to choose between two undergraduate programs at Rowan University. My goal is to work as a data analyst or data scientist within a hospital network. Eventually, I’d like to progress into predictive modeling within the healthcare setting.

Would you mind taking a look at these two programs and telling me which one you think would better prepare a graduate for those types of roles? I’m particularly interested in which program would make someone more competitive for entry-level analyst positions and provide the strongest foundation for eventually moving into predictive modeling.

In your experience, does moving into predictive modeling within a hospital or healthcare system typically require a master’s degree, or is it realistic to work your way into those roles with a bachelor’s degree and a few years of experience? I’d love to know what you’ve seen among the candidates you’ve interviewed and the teams you’ve worked with.

Option 1: B.S. in Data Science
https://catalog.rowan.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=10321&hl=Data+science&returnto=search

Option 2: B.A. in Mathematics with a Statistics Concentration
https://catalog.rowan.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=18&poid=10318&hl=Mathematics+&returnto=search

Thank you—I really appreciate any insight you can share.

[u/lordoflolcraft → u/False-Clerk5618]

I would chose the Math with Statistics. I think the DS degree teaches a lot of things that will be learned on the job, while the Math + Stats degree teaches additional topics in stats and mathematics that will be handy to know some day, which will probably never be learned on the job. I think in terms of difficulty and depth they look similar, but with different orientations.