I’m a lead software engineer and I’m looking for a master’s program in a field related to data science/analytics. There are many Analytics programs out there but I don’t prefer something too technical, I want the right amount of tech. knowledge that helps me run data-oriented projects or pursue a career in business analyst/consulting.
On the other hand, a colleage adviced me to study analytics/data science and then I can grow a career in it. I honstly don’t know which option to go with. Can anyone share their thoughts? Thanks!
Well, the “right” amount of technical knowledge is going to vary based on what you want to do. “data-oriented” projects is pretty broad. There are some companies that do data analytics and only do very basic analyses that you can learn with a certificate or a few classes. And then there are some companies that need people to do complex analyses or construct their own tests/write their own algorithms to perform new analyses. Some companies would even like their statisticians/data analysts to be hybrid programmers and write new software to do analyses, although if you are a software engineer you have that on lock.
SO it kind of depends on your interests. The programs you’re looking at seem concerned with operations research and industrial engineering, which can be a really lucrative field to enter. Data science and analytics can be related, but not always, but is also a lucrative field to enter. Operations research is usually about making business processes go more smoothly; data science could be anything, but is generally understood as taking consumer/user data and finding patterns or analyzing it to improve things on the consumer side.