Hi ,
It's easy to teach someone the tech skills needed to become a
data scientist. It may take time, but a motivated person, with the right attitude, should be able to learn them. The problem is finding that person with the right attitude.
Soft skills, such as influence, attitude, curiosity and communication are a lot harder to teach than tech skills. But its those soft skills that are necessary for a data
scientist to deliver value.
As Amanda Aitken expressed it on my podcast, Value Driven Data Science:
"The value from anything data science related really comes from someone being able to take the outcomes of a model and explain what they mean to a non-technical audience, so that the audience can actually do something with that information. It's absolutely useless to have output of a model that no one understands and therefore don't know how to act on."
When skilled employees are in high demand, like they currently are across the whole economy, it makes sense for organisations to upskill their staff and build their data capabilities from within.
Here's the thing...
Curious, influential employees, with the right attitude will always be in high demand.
To build a data science team that really delivers value, focus on finding people with the right soft skills and then make upskilling a part of
their job.
Talk again soon,
- Dr Genevieve Hayes
p.s. If you're interested in upskilling your existing data team, Genevieve Hayes Consulting can help. Reply to this email to find out more.
