BY Meghan MalasAugust 24, 2022, 6:43 PM
A pedestrian passes by on the University of Minnesota campus, as seen in April 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
Data science is one of the fastest growing fields today with job openings for this role growing 480% since 2016, according to Glassdoor. Companies and organizations of all sizes and industries are seeking data-savvy professionals that can create value from the massive volumes of data available. To meet this steep demand, schools are unveiling more degree programs in data science.
Drawing on a wide grange of perspectives—ranging from software development to story-telling—data scientists must be versatile to be successful. And data science students often land six-figure salaries after graduating from master’s degree programs. While getting a master’s degree isn’t the only way to break into this red-hot field, it is a direct and promising avenue.
Just ask Miguel Miguélez Díaz, a business intelligence engineer at Amazon who received his job offer months before he graduated in May 2022. At the University of Minnesota, where Miguélez pursued his master’s degree in data science, about 90% of data science program students find employment before they graduate. The university landed No.3 on Fortune’s ranking of the best master’s degree programs in data science.
To learn what makes a master’s degree program in data science worthwhile, Fortune spoke with Miguélez and two professors from the University of Minnesota.
Data scientists with in-depth knowledge are in high demand
In 2017, Miguélez was working as an intern at a consulting company, finding ways to reduce costs and maximize profits for different companies. It was during that experience that he started to utilize elements of data science in his analysis—and it proved to be so beneficial that he wanted to learn more.
While his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering prepared him for his consulting job, if he wanted to do more in-depth analysis—and get more robust results—he knew he had to update his skill set. This is a common thread among students in a master’s degree program in data science.
“There is a very recent trend to create many undergraduate degree programs in data science to satisfy the demand for data scientists,” says Daniel Boley, a professor of computer science and engineering and director of the data science graduate program at the University of Minnesota. “But since data science is such a fast-evolving field with many new experimental methods proposed every year, many industries will still seek the maturity and deeper skills that come with a graduate degree.”
Even managers are seeking to understand the discipline so they can more effectively wield the power of data. A master’s degree program helps professionals focus on the capabilities and application of data and technology—which includes the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
“Many successful methods in AI and machine learning are data-driven and hence, inseparable from what could be thought of as data science,” Boley says. “The methods may evolve, but data will continue to be the basis for advances in machine learning, AI, and data science—practitioners who know how to handle and analyze data will continue to be in demand.”
An undergraduate degree program in data science can grant a student …….