When was the last time you picked up your phone and scrolled through your Instagram feed? Checked out a story on Snapchat? Bought something from Amazon?
你上一次拿起手機(jī)瀏覽Instagram是什么時候？看了Snapchat上的一篇報道？從亞馬遜買東西了嗎?

Well, what you might not have realized is the driver of every one of those applications is data.
你可能還沒有意識到這些應(yīng)用程序的驅(qū)動力都是數(shù)據(jù)。

And, in order to stay relevant, companies are using said data to predict what will be the next big thing. The people at the center of all that action? Data scientists.
而且，為了保持相關(guān)性，各公司會使用這些數(shù)據(jù)來預(yù)測下一個大事件。所有這些行動的中心人物是誰？數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家。

So, it’s no wonder that a 2012 report in the Harvard Business Review dubbed the profession “the sexiest job of the 21st century.”
因此，難怪2012年《哈佛商業(yè)評論》的一份報告稱這一職業(yè)為“21世紀(jì)最迷人的工作”。

It is forecasted that demand for data scientists will soar by 28% by 2020, as companies collect data from a wide variety of sources and need to analyze them to provide better outcomes: clicks online, household water meters, food shopping purchases, health records. But, simply gathering data isn’t enough. Somebody needs to make sense of all those numbers and find patterns to work with. Which is what data scientists do, they analyze data for patterns and use history as a predictor for future outcomes.
據(jù)預(yù)測，到2020年，對數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家的需求將猛增28%，因為公司從各種各樣的來源收集數(shù)據(jù)，包括在線點擊、家用水表記錄、食品購買記錄和健康記錄等，并需要對收集到的數(shù)據(jù)進(jìn)行分析，希望可以提供更好的結(jié)果。但是，僅僅收集數(shù)據(jù)是不夠的。需要有人弄清楚所有這些數(shù)據(jù)并找到可以使用的模型。這就是數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家所做的工作，他們分析數(shù)據(jù)的模型，并用歷史數(shù)據(jù)作為未來結(jié)果的預(yù)測指標(biāo)。

So, now that we’re clear on what a data scientist does and how sexy it is, how do you become one?
那么，既然我們已經(jīng)清楚了數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家的工作是什么，以及它有多迷人，那么你要如何才能成為一名數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家呢?

Must Love Data
必須熱愛數(shù)據(jù)

It might sound obvious, but to be a data scientist, you have to love data, says Mary L., Data Scientist at New York Life. Mary was always good at math and admits she was “basically married to the math department” in high school.
紐約人壽的數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家瑪麗說，這聽起來很明顯，但要成為一名數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家，你必須熱愛數(shù)據(jù)?，旣愐恢倍己苌瞄L數(shù)學(xué), 她曾經(jīng)說過，在高中時 "基本上嫁給了數(shù)學(xué)系"

Jeremy B., from New York Life’s Enterprise Data Management team, says his passion for data started when he began predicting problems in a prior company’s platform so that issues could be fixed proactively.
來自紐約人壽企業(yè)數(shù)據(jù)管理團(tuán)隊的杰瑞米說，他對數(shù)據(jù)的熱情始于他為了能夠主動地解決問題而開始預(yù)測前一家公司平臺上的問題的時候。?

While Mary appreciates that her colleagues are from different cultures and training backgrounds from financial mathematics to actuarial science, they are all united by their love of data. Mary herself was a statistician long before the term data scientist became popular and she suggests that being comfortable working with data is arguably the most important aspect of the job.
盡管瑪麗意識到她的同事來自不同的文化和培訓(xùn)背景，從金融數(shù)學(xué)到精算科學(xué)，但他們都因熱愛數(shù)據(jù)而團(tuán)結(jié)在一起。早在“數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家”這個術(shù)語流行起來之前瑪麗就是一名統(tǒng)計學(xué)家。她認(rèn)為舒適地處理數(shù)據(jù)可以說是這項工作最重要的方面。

However, Jeremy advises potential would-be data scientists to add programming to their toolset if they can: “there are skills that could be refined and developed around programming, whether that’s [by learning] different languages like Java or Python or even the ability to go through and write standard SQL queries.”
不過，杰里米建議那些潛在的數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家在可能的情況下將編程添加到他們的工具集中：“有一些技能可以圍繞編程進(jìn)行改進(jìn)和開發(fā)，不管是是(通過學(xué)習(xí))Java或Python等不同的語言，或者甚至通過閱讀和編寫標(biāo)準(zhǔn)SQL查詢的能力?！?

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Stand Out in a Crowd
在人群中脫穎而出?

Standing out in a pool of applicants is always a good thing and that holds true for jobs in data science, too.
在眾多申請者中脫穎而出總是件好事，數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)領(lǐng)域的工作也是如此。

Jeremy points out that because data science is still a nascent field, there is no standard for what one needs to know to be successful in the industry. “What we’re really looking for is people who are intellectually curious,” he says, “folks who are willing to dig deeper, who continue to want to make themselves and the company better through advances in data technologies.”
杰里米指出，因為數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)仍然是一個新興領(lǐng)域，所以沒有標(biāo)準(zhǔn)來衡量一個人需要知道什么才能在這個行業(yè)中取得成功。他說:“我們真正要找的是那些有求知欲的人，那些愿意深入挖掘的人，那些繼續(xù)希望通過數(shù)據(jù)技術(shù)的進(jìn)步，讓自己和公司變得更好的人?！?/div>

At New York Life, for example, since data scientists work with colleagues who have different backgrounds, they bring their own perspectives to the table, which is always valued, Raul H., from the Customer Relationship Management team at New York Life says. At the end of the day, it “comes down to having a passion for data and actually wanting to dig in, pull data sets apart, and really become an expert on the data set that you’re evaluating,” Jeremy adds.
例如，紐約人壽的客戶關(guān)系管理團(tuán)隊的勞爾說，在紐約人壽，數(shù)據(jù)科學(xué)家與有著不同背景的同事一起工作，他們會把自己的觀點帶到桌面上，這一直以來都受到重視。在一天結(jié)束的時候，杰里米補(bǔ)充說道，這“歸結(jié)為對數(shù)據(jù)的熱愛，并且實際上想要深入挖掘，把數(shù)據(jù)集分開，真正成為你正在評估的數(shù)據(jù)集的專家，”。

The bottom line: Much like other jobs, you can stand out by showing you’re a team player and are willing to get down in the trenches and get your hands dirty.
總而言之：就像其他工作一樣，你可以通過表現(xiàn)出你是一個有團(tuán)隊精神的人，并且愿意深入戰(zhàn)壕，弄臟雙手，從而脫穎而出。

Above all, you must have a passion for data. It’s the only way to mold your career in a booming, evolving and yes, sexy, field.?
最重要的是，你必須對數(shù)據(jù)充滿熱情。這是在一個蓬勃發(fā)展，迷人的領(lǐng)域里塑造你的職業(yè)生涯的唯一途徑。

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（翻譯：雅蘭）