How I became a domain Data Scientist!
It took me a while to sit and write this post. Perhaps some sort of avoidance was at work in the aftermath of the PhD years. Nevertheless, here it is.
These days, when I get asked what my title is, I am comfortable saying that I am a Data Scientist with a background in the energy industry. However, it was not always comfortable, as the concept of what it means to be one was blurred across the board. Nobody really knew what that new title was about, and most of us in science/research would agree that we have been doing data science anyway for a long time.
While today there are fewer misconceptions regarding what a data scientist does…well, at least in my circles, when I get asked, my answer goes like this:
“I am a Physicist by training, spent some time working/studying Nuclear Medicine. Then I got a Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering and Management (DEP/UNICAMP) and a PhD in Reservoir Geophysics (UWA). In 2018, as there were no jobs in oil and gas, I became an independent survivor, and people started to ask me if I could help them with some random problems ranging from precision agriculture to genomics. By applying my skills to those disciplines, I matured my own concept of what it is to be a Data Scientist.”
The thing about backgrounds like mine is that they define who you are! The whole experience wires you in a certain way and makes you “unreasonably persistent.” That is why I was pleased to hear recently the term “Domain Data Scientist.” I assume the industry has started to look for those who have a significant past and truly understand the problems at a deeper level and can apply their expertise to solve problems by combining some of the powerful “traditional” techniques (yes, that incl. ml/genai etc) with fast-deploying development tools in the cloud (this is probably a topic for another time).
In my experience, my domain expertise also means that the chances are that I speak the lingo. If not, that unreasonable persistence kicks in, and somehow you have to figure out what is going on…probably by watching YouTube videos.
I am always curious about the different versions of Data Scientists out there. If you have one, please send it through!
If for some obscure reason you’d like to learn more about my specific area of expertise, you can find my PhD thesis on this link.
It has been downloaded a shocking 1,223 times!!!!
cheers,
Raf
