Career changes for a data analyst?

March 9, 2016 12:50 PM

I've been doing data analysis for about 8 years, and I feel stuck. Where to next?

I really like data analysis - I enjoy the data wrangling and model building, creating artful visualizations, and setting up reports and dashboards that help make people's lives easier. I really enjoy setting up and automating processes, and systems thinking in general. But I'm having a hard time finding a job that lets me do those things - at least, one that isn't at a mindless bureaucracy or in marketing. If I lived on a coast, that would be easier, but it's tough here on the plains.

I'm starting to wonder: are there other jobs that would be a good fit for these skills, and that might actually hire a data analyst? I'm interested in a wide variety of fields - agriculture, forestry, energy, education, tech - as long as there are real problems to solve.

Other things about me: My core skills are applied stats (planning, collection, analysis), R, and SQL; I'm a pretty good writer and public speaker. I've worked in healthcare and software. I'm currently a "data scientist", but I'm still basically a data analyst. I'm a grad school dropout, but don't get the impression that it's hurting me much.

Let me know if there are any questions I can answer, and thanks for your help!

posted by Claubert to Work & Money (13 answers total)

Have you considered forecasting? I spent many years as an actuary, then moved into a forecasting role outside of the insurance industry. There's a lot of skill set overlap with purely analytical roles, but in my mind it is much more interesting. Large organizations need forecasting analysts in sales planning and risk management functions.
posted by antimony at 1:00 PM on March 9, 2016

Retail banks are clamouring for people like you.

Also, many of the surviving media outlets are starting to bring 'data journalists' on board.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 1:14 PM on March 9, 2016

Big data jobs are very much a growth area. Here is one of many articles on the topic:
Where Big Data Jobs Will Be In 2015

Do some looking around with regards to big data jobs. They are already experiencing a serious shortfall of qualified candidates and the problem is expected to get much worse. You have a solid background for making a move into big data. Google "Hadoop" and "big data skills" and look at expanding your skillset in a way that positions you to go into big data.

It is not only a growth area, the pay is good.

Best of luck.
posted by Michele in California at 1:50 PM on March 9, 2016

In my experience so far, having worked as a data scientist for 3 years, the work seems to be clustered in the major tech and finance markets - San Francisco, New York, London. As you said 'on the plains' there's less happening. One way to interpret this is that these markets are ahead of the curve and eventually more jobs will appear as it becomes mandatory for every company to have a data team, which means you should perhaps hold tight. Another possibility is that data science jobs are going to remain concentrated in these markets and will be packaged as products and services for everyone else. It is very difficult and expensive to build a quality data team so the incentives seem to point towards the second possibility.

Also, I think the market has been way overhyped relative to the number of actual positions I see on the ground - still far, far less than straight-up software engineers, front-end developers, sales, marketing, etc etc - and I'm actually a bit concerned about the viability of this career path simply because there are so many people with scientific backgrounds and graduate degrees wanting to transition into data science. I think candidates with the right skills and experience are still relatively rare, but it is going to be harder to stand out from the crowd as time goes on.

My advice is to move to a larger job market for a few years, if you can, and try to get in on the action there. With your experience I am confident you'd be competitive for most 'data science' roles. What happens next is uncertain but it will position you better if you are plugged into one of the main networks.
posted by PercussivePaul at 2:36 PM on March 9, 2016 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Thanks for the answers so far! One thing that I must have accidentally cut while editing my question: for at least the next few years, moving isn't an option for me. Oh, I'll just say it - I'm in Denver.

PercussivePaul - I have exactly the same suspicions about the bulk of data science jobs staying in that handful of cities, and the hype relative to the number of jobs. It's reassuring to hear that from someone else, even though your advice is the one thing I can't do. Helps me feel like I have a grounded perspective, at least.
posted by Claubert at 3:37 PM on March 9, 2016

I agree that the bulk of jobs advertising for "data scientists" are in the big tech centers, but insurance companies are big time consumers of data analysis and always looking for a competitive edge and there are mid-sized and larger insurance companies *all over* the country advertising for jobs requiring exactly this skill set under all sorts of titles. I used to work for a large beer company in Missouri that was actively building a team with this kind of skill set, again not under the "data scientist" title.

I think you'll find a lot of opportunities in Denver, you just need to cast the net wider and read job descriptions carefully.
posted by antimony at 4:03 PM on March 9, 2016 [1 favorite]

Consulting. I'm doing it and it's pretty nifty. I travel, meet customers, listen and then fix their problems. Good pay, variety and the knowledge that people can screw stuff up in the most amazing ways.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 4:49 PM on March 9, 2016

Ah, well, Denver's a pretty big city. What do you think of the job listings? It certainly looks like you could take a step up.

One other thing I noted is that there exist such things as senior data scientists, principal data scientists, and chief data scientists in the big cities. Not so in smaller markets. So one career path could be to try to position yourself for a move upwards into a senior role in a big city in a few years.

Another pathway I can see is to try to build a personal consulting business, as Ruthless Bunny suggests. I think this might be a good pathway if you want more variety and more control over your life.

And a third suggestion is to start blogging. Pick an area that you are interested in where you can access some data and start doing some analysis and writing about it. In other words, start doing the stuff you want to get paid to do now. Once you have progressed on this path a little, look for others who are interested in this topic and connect with them. This would be a great way to move into a new industry.
posted by PercussivePaul at 5:06 PM on March 9, 2016 [3 favorites]

A non-trivial number of tech employers will hire people willing to work from wherever and show up at the main office a few times a year. Etsy for one is headquartered in Brooklyn but has employees on both coasts and possibly in between. Like many tech companies, they have a keen interest in both data analysis and automation. I am sure there are others like them.
posted by zippy at 6:01 PM on March 9, 2016 [1 favorite]

GIS is something that has always interested me (maps! data!) and might be up your alley.
posted by jillithd at 6:19 AM on March 10, 2016 [2 favorites]

The skill set you have now is very similar to the skill sets that friends of mine in the analytics departments of pro sports teams (MLB, NFL). Any interest in that direction?
posted by nulledge at 7:53 AM on March 10, 2016

Response by poster: Consulting is of great interest to me, and I've had a couple of gigs over the years - but I have a hard time scouting out work. Any suggestions on that?

zippy - I've actually interviewed at Etsy, and their analytics team is strictly Brooklyn-bound. :( I'm very interested in those jobs, but they seem scarce. Maybe I need to be more aggressive about applying for positions that aren't explicitly open to remote workers.

jillithd - me, too! I did a little GIS in grad school and loved it. Unfortunately, I think the oil & gas collapse has turned out a lot of GIS analysts in Denver - but it's definitely on my radar.

nulledge - I'm not really interested in sports, but I appreciate the suggestion!
posted by Claubert at 12:45 PM on March 10, 2016

Response by poster: red thoughts' pointer to data journalism is also well-taken. Turns out NICAR's annual conference is in Denver right now! Here's their job board
posted by Claubert at 12:48 PM on March 10, 2016 [1 favorite]