Data Science Careers: Pathways and Skills Data science careers offer options for many interests. In this field, people turn data into decisions using math, software, and clear communication. You can come from math, engineering, business, or science, and grow by doing real projects and learning new tools.
Career pathways Data Analyst / Business Intelligence Analyst Data Engineer Data Scientist Machine Learning Engineer Analytics Manager or Lead Data Scientist Core skills and tools Statistics and probability Programming in Python or R SQL and data querying Data wrangling and cleaning Data visualization and storytelling Cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure) and basic MLOps Version control and collaboration Getting started Build a learning plan around fundamentals and small, real projects Create a portfolio with 3 end-to-end projects that show your process Practice SQL and Python hands-on; use notebooks for experiments Study real-world case studies and explain your findings clearly Choosing a path Think about the industry you like: tech, finance, health, or retail. If you enjoy building data pipelines and ensuring data quality, data engineering may fit. If you like modeling and deriving insights, data science or ML engineering could be your path. Start with fundamentals, then pick 1–2 projects that showcase impact in a domain you care about.
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