It Takes Teams to Solve the Data Scientist Shortage

Data scientists are in high demand, but our research has found there is simply not enough PhD talent to fill the jobs. The shortage is especially severe in the U.S. where 80% of new data scientist jobs created between 2010 and 2011 have not been filled, according to our analysis.

If you are looking for data scientists to take your company to Big Data nirvana, we have news for you. Unless you run a hotshot Silicon Valley company, chances are enough of them aren’t going to walk through your door. There’s a more realistic approach for the rest: divide up the job and conquer.

Data scientists are the experts who design the intricate models, algorithms and visualizations that help companies distill insights from huge volumes of chaotic data. But being a data scientist is not only about data crunching. "It’s about understanding the business challenge, creating some valuable actionable insights to the data, and communicating their findings to the business," says Jean-Paul Isson, the global vice president of predictive analytics and business intelligence at Monster WorldwideMWW -0.40%, Inc.

By Jeanne G. Harris, Nathan Shetterley, Allan E. Alter and Krista Schnell

Full Story: http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2014/02/14/it-takes-teams-to-solve-the-data-scientist-shortage/