According to Harvard Business Review, a data scientist is the “sexiest job of the 21st century.” Find that hard to believe?

Here are some statistics to back up the claim:

  • The market for analytic software grew from $11 billion to $35 million between 2000-2012.
  • There was a 15,000% increase in job postings for data scientists between summer 2011 and summer 2012, which spanned across all industries including retail, banking, healthcare and airlines.
  • The average salary of a data scientist is over $100K.
  • Experts predict that 1.5 million more data-literate managers will be needed by 2018.

So what does it take to be one of these sought-after scientists? Find out in this infographic by FICO.

[Click image for full size version]

Sexiest Job of the 21st Century: Data Scientist?

Irma Wallace

Irma Wallace

Co-founder and Vice President of SearchRank, responsible for many of the day to day operations of the company. She is also founder of The Arizona Builders’ Zone, a construction / home improvement portal.

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