5 Unexpected Jobs You Can Get with a Data Science Certification

With our landscape growing ever-more reliant on online data and the digital space, it’s no surprise the data science field has skyrocketed in demand. Those with the skills to gather, analyse, and leverage our vast trove of valuable online information may just have the key to one’s business growth and success.

SEEK findings project a job growth of 27.7% in the coming five years, with Glassdoor statistics estimating the average Australian salary to be around $115K AUD per year. With exciting opportunities and generous salaries, data science certifications have thus become a hot commodity – helping one bolster their chances of landing a role in this ever-growing job market.

However, these certifications aren’t limited to roles in the data science field itself; as their highly-transferrable skillsets are also applicable to a wide range of careers today. We explore some of these career paths below, and the general benefits of certification as an aspiring data science professional.

The benefits of a data science certification

Obtaining a data science certification is not only a highly effective way of gaining new skills, it also helps establish your credibility in the field.

For example, the Certified Data Science Professional boot camp course provided by Lumify Learn offers certifications under Microsoft Azure – internationally-renowned credentials in the data science field. Equipping yourself with qualifications under reputable IT bodies shows that you not only have the skills for these roles; but that they’re up-to-standard, reliable, and competitive in this growing job market.

Data science certifications help showcase your initiative and drive for learning in the industry – traits sought after by any employer. They demonstrate your commitment to keeping your skills current and ahead of the curb, helping you bring greater value to the organisation in the long run. As such, qualified data science professionals are often able to land generous salaries, with the average data scientist earning about $115K AUD per year, according to Glassdoor statistics.

Last, but not least, certifications can help you pursue specialisations in the data science field. These qualifications typically concentrate on a specific area of data science, helping you target in-demand technical roles and skillsets available on the job market. Lumify Learn’s courses in the field, for example, hold certifications that focus on sought-after tools like TensorFlow, Microsoft Azure, and AWS’ data analytics; helping aspiring data scientists land opportunities that specifically seek out these skill areas.

5 unexpected career paths for a data science certification

While data science certifications are recommended pathways to the field itself, they can also open doors to other career opportunities not necessarily within the industry. Such roles could include:

Software engineers

Using the principles of engineering, software engineers are tasked with designing, developing, and maintaining programs for an organisation or its customer base. The sector shares plenty in common with the data science field, including a focus on mathematics, statistical analysis, and programming languages.

However, those in the field can greatly benefit from the skills in risk assessment, exploratory data analyses, and data visualisation often explored in data science certifications. These areas can help bolster the planning, experimentation, and performance analyses in software development; letting you leverage the relevant data to improve and upgrade your product.

According to Payscale, the average software engineer currently earns over $80K AUD per year, with the potential to earn as high as $115K with greater experience.

Computer security analyst

Also known as “information security analysts”, computer security analysts help ensure an organisation’s networks, computer systems, and databases are protected with the latest cyber security measures and software.

With data science certifications, professionals can better leverage data related to both past and current threats, intrusions, and system behaviour – helping them pinpoint ways of implementing stronger protection. Additionally, such information could be used in tandem with machine learning algorithms to identify the common patterns that lead to intrusions, helping predict future threats or attacks before they take place.

Based on Indeed’s statistics, the average information security analyst currently earns around $104K AUD per year in Australia.

Sports data analysts

Data science needn’t be limited to the field of tech; in fact, those in the sports field can highly benefit from its practices.

Using both on and off-field (i.e. social media interactions, fan behaviours, ticket purchases) data, sports data analysts focus on estimating the skill value of athletes, helping teams recruit players with optimal skillsets. They also help identify the effectiveness of certain plays, tactics, and techniques. As such, those in this profession require an excellent skillset in statistics, data analysis, and data management – all covered under comprehensive data science certifications. Additionally, the ability to communicate such information in plain, jargon-free language is crucial.

According to Indeed, the average salary for sports data analysts in Australia is about $79K AUD per year.

Market research analyst

Similarly to sports data analysts, market research analysts spend time analysing the trends and consumer behaviours of company’s target market; helping them assess the viability and sales potential of a product or service.

Getting certified in data science can thus help current workers or aspiring professionals in the field, allowing them to move beyond consumer-reported data (which often only point to a customer’s motivations and preferences) to address actual underlying behaviours, buying patterns, habits, and activities at play. The two sectors are a perfect combination of research, with data science providing a wider, deeper breadth of insights; and market research helping provide the context – interpreting the connections in this data to pinpoint specific company needs.

According to Glassdoor, the average market research analyst earns about $68K AUD in Australia, with the potential to earn as high as $107K AUD per year with greater experience.

Operations research analyst

Finally, operations research analysts are a core ingredient of successful businesses – helping them pinpoint areas of growth, opportunity, and improvement. Through the analysis of relevant data, these professionals identify and solve any recurring business problems; determining ways of improving processes and making companies run more efficiently.

Data science certifications can thus play a key role in this field, equipping operations research analysts with the right tools, methods, and technologies for collecting and analysing the information they’re after. Such skills can help them examine larger data sets with greater efficiency, particularly through tools such as big data mining and machine learning algorithms.

According to SalaryExpert, the average operations research analyst in Australia earns about $125K AUD, with the potential to earn as high as $154K AUD as experience grows.

Seeking to build your skills in data science?

As mentioned, Lumify Learn offers multiple courses in the field of data science, including our Certified Data Science Professional and Certified Data Analytics Professional programs.

These courses come in the form of bootcamps, helping you have a feel of the industry while acquiring various internationally-recognised certifications under Microsoft. Students will learn the foundations of leveraging data science technologies, paving the way for new career paths and a “future-proofed” skillset in an increasingly data-reliant landscape.

Best of all these courses are delivered 100% online, helping you train at a pace, place, and schedule that suits you best.

Launch your career path in data science today, and enquire with us on a course.