Myth Bust: Data science is not just about coding!
Watching
people create data science projects using Jupyter notebooks might give a
superficial impression of data science as a hardcore programming-intensive field.
Numerous people are led to believe that data science is all about Python and R.
However, Data science has more to offer than just writing plain code. Rather, coding
is merely an “enabler” or a handy tool to ease the overall process.
Then what exactly
is data science about if not hardcore coding?
Well, simply
put, it has more to do with your statistical problem-solving skills. A good
data scientist is expected to understand the problem statement and arrive at
data-driven outcomes/insights. In order
to be good at solving business problems, one needs to understand the kind of
business itself in the first place, and that is where domain knowledge comes
into the picture.
Wikipedia
defines domain knowledge as “Domain knowledge is knowledge of a specific,
specialized discipline or field, in contrast to general (or domain-independent)
knowledge. The term is often used in reference to a more general discipline—for
example, in describing a software engineer who has general knowledge of
computer programming as well as domain knowledge about developing programs for
a particular industry.”
Why is domain
knowledge important?
1. 1. To get specialized insights by
narrowing down on certain aspects. (derived features)
2. 2. To understand the project
requirements in a better way.
3. 3. To decide what is the best data
for the problem.
4. 4. Understand the data better (Better
optimization).
Here are some
tried and tested ways to improve your domain knowledge:
1. 1. Take up an actual job/internship. (What
better than getting your hands dirty? )
2. 2. Participate in NGOs/unpaid Jobs (To
learn how an organization works)
3. 3. Domain-specific courses. (For
example, if you are interested in working on an aviation-based use case, you might
want to learn more about areas such as aerospace, aero robotics, aeronautics, and
UAV (Unarmed Ariel vehicle) related fields by doing some extra courses.)
Image Courtesy: http://www.nexiats.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Nexia-Pulse-Q3-2017.pdf
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