Key takeaways
- The job market for data science in India has improved, yet hiring remains challenging for many professionals.
- Despite high confidence among applicants, many overstate their skills, leading to difficulties in meeting job demands.
- Mid-level professionals find it easier to secure roles compared to fresh graduates, who face more significant challenges.
- The perception of data science as easily attainable through online courses can mislead inexperienced candidates.
The analytics job scenario in India has improved substantially. Even with the skill enhancement being the chief priority among employers and leading enterprises, the hiring process still leaves IT professionals befuddled. According to a Michael Page Job Applicant Confidence Index report, Indians have the highest job confidence outlook and around 47 percent of working professionals expressed the desire to develop new skills.Despite the high confidence and positive job outlook, the 21st century’s sexiest job is not easy to land. The field is fraught with the hype that data science is something one can achieve, simply with a string of online courses or specialisations, without any prior industry experience. The result is that there are analysts who have overstated their SQL skills on their rèsumès or even oversold their skills to snag an entry-level position but have quickly gotten fazed by the realistic demands.
There are different (informal) rules for different candidates. Mid-level or senior professionals with five or more years of work experience under their belt usually do not have difficulty in clinching a Data Analyst or Analytics Consultant position as much as a fresher. For inexperienced candidates, it is an uphill task, especially those who have a business degree.
Of late, with data science sector gaining steam, there has been an influx of graduates and early-stage professionals from business, marketing and IT background who want to pivot to this field. But despite retooling, they realise that they are not getting what the hype led them to believe. The field of data science requires years of experience and expertise in multiple areas.
The trend of short-term courses has spawned thousands of students or graduates landing well-paying position in the analytics industry. However, freshly graduated students who lack industry experience find it highly demoralising when they are only considered for internship positions. Even their fabulous tech-intensive projects are not enough to get them an entry-level position.
