The role
As a data scientist, you build models that predict, classify or recommend, such as credit scoring, churn prediction or fraud detection. You explore large datasets, test hypotheses and put models into production with engineers. You also explain your results to business teams in plain language.
Who is hiring
Banks, fintechs, insurers, mobile operators and research organisations hire data scientists, along with AI start-ups and international organisations working on development data. Remote roles are common, especially with diaspora and international employers.
Background and career path
Most data scientists hold a master's in statistics, applied mathematics, computer science or engineering, and show projects on GitHub or Kaggle. They progress to senior data scientist, machine learning engineer or head of data.