A Data-What? How and Why You Should Explain Your Data Job to Everyone
Concisely summarizing your role can help avoid ambiguity at both the dinner table and the negotiation table.
I Work in Data…
Sometimes I get the ‘what do you do for work?’ question at the most inconvenient moments. Yesterday it was while I was reclined in a dentist’s chair.
For data-driven roles, a discipline that has found a way to answer complex business questions, there is still one inquiry data scientists, data engineers and data analysts around the world struggle with:
How do I explain my job title to a non-technological person?
Coming from a background in journalism and media, explaining my chosen profession to a family member, friend or acquaintance used to be straightforward. Having to contextualize or outright explain what I do for work is quite a new experience. In this case, not only do I have to explain what my job title is, I have to justify the existence of a 32 billion dollar industry (2020 estimate). Conversely, being a reporter meant being inherently visible in one form or another. Whether you were on camera, on-air or in print, some extension of your professional brand was public-facing and, thus, easier to explain.
