10 Creative Ways To Define A Data Scientist

We now live in a world where data and data science are the buzzwords surrounding every aspect of business. In the middle of all this is an individual called a Data Scientist, whose job according to Harvard Business Review, is the sexiest one of the 21st century. So who exactly is a Data Scientist? Formal textbook definitions for the term are many. But we bring you 10 that are funny and creative, and have also been framed by some of the best experts in the world of data science. Here’s a look:

#1. Hadley Wickham, Chief Scientist at RStudio:

A data scientist is a statistician who is wearing a bow tie.

#2. Josh Wills, Software Engineer, Search, Learning, and Intelligence at Slack:

Person who is better at statistics than any software engineer and better at software engineering than any statistician

#3. Neil Raden, Contributing Research Analyst at Wikibon/ SiliconAngle:

Computer guys with some quant skills who used to be called analysts.

#4. Monica Rogati, Data Science and AI Advisor:

By definition all scientists are data scientists. In my opinion, they are half hacker, half analyst, they use data to build products and find insights. It’s Columbus meet Columbo-- starry eyed explorers and skeptical detectives.

#5. SAS, Analytics software and services provider:

Data scientists are a new breed of analytical data expert who have the technical skills to solve complex problems – and the curiosity to explore what problems need to be solved.

#6. Tom Davenport and D.J. Patil:

What data scientists do is make discoveries while swimming in data… [their] dominant trait is intense curiosity — a desire to go beneath the surface of a problem, find the questions at its heart, and distill them into a very clear set of hypotheses that can be tested.

#7. Shivani Kapahi, Creative Head at IIHT Ltd.:

Data Scientists are Business Analysts or Data Analysts, with a difference!

#8. Roger Huang, Growth at Springboard:

A data scientist is a unicorn that bridges math, algorithms, experimental design, engineering chops, communication and management skills, but they aren't specialists in every aspect.

#9. Anjul Bhambhri, Vice President, Platform Engineering, Adobe:

A data scientist is somebody who is inquisitive, who can stare at data and spot trends. It's almost like a renaissance individual who really wants to learn and bring change to an organisation.

#10. Simon Rogers, Data Editor, Google:

A data scientist is someone who can bridge the raw data and the analysis – and make it accessible. It’s a democratising role; by bringing the data to the people, you make the world just a little bit better.