A Career in Big Data – Job Opportunities and Trends

Preface

Big Data is one of the fastest-growing industries across the world. It refers to storing data in large quantities and using them for various purposes. In today’s day and age, where we generate tons of data every day,Big Data has become a crucial domain. Companies recognize the importance of incorporating this technology into their operations as it helps them enhance their marketing efforts, risk management implementations, and improve the overall business performance. In case you are reading about Big Data for the first time: Understand more What Is Big Data Analytics? Know Its Importance & Uses

Due to these reasons, big data career opportunities are on a constant rise. The pay for a big data job is exponentially high in comparison to many other tech careers. The following column will cover some of the various aspects of a big data job, such as what a big data job description is, how to capitalize on the various job opportunities for big data analytics and the common big data job requirements. 

Introduction

Getting a big data job can be highly beneficial. Particularly, in the current industry, the demand for big data professionals is constantly on the rise. Big data is beaming with opportunities and is one of the most lucrative fields to enter. The rising usage of mobile and IoT devices has played a huge role in increasing the demand for big data professionals. Social media, healthcare, manufacturing, retail, transport, and IT services are some industries that utilize big data. With the necessary skills and expertise, you can easily get a big data job in any one of these industries. 

AnalytixLabs is India’s top-ranked big data and AI institute. Since 2011, it has provided training to students on the latest in-demand skills and made them industry-ready professionals by helping them develop basic and advanced analytics skills. 

What Is Big Data Job?

Big data refers to collecting, storing, and working with such humongous amounts of data that traditional data management solutions can’t store or process them effectively. A big data professional is someone who can work with big data by using big data tools and technologies. While there are many roles present in this field, all of them require you to handle different types of data (structured, unstructured, and semi-structured).

Working in a big data job requires knowing how to handle an organization’s big data infrastructure and tools. You’ll be developing, maintaining, testing, and evaluating big data solutions for your company as it’s one of the most important big data job requirements in any big data job description.

You should be familiar with the different characteristics of big data, which are variability, volume, velocity, and variety. As a big data professional, you’ll have to manage the data stored in your organization and find ways to optimize the same. You’ll have to find ways to enhance the data streaming and analysis capabilities of your organization. 

Keep in mind that your responsibilities vary greatly according to your role. 

Big Data Career Opportunities and Trends

Big data is a broad field, and so it has a ton of different career opportunities. The following points will illustrate the best of them: 

Top big data career opportunities:

Data Analyst

A data analyst analyses the data systems present in their organization and work to enhance the same. They help the data scientist gather the required data and are responsible for retrieving information from different sources to help with the analytics processes. Data analysts are responsible for generating the required reports as well. 

Data Scientist

A data scientist is responsible for analyzing large amounts of data to generate insights that help the organization make decisions. They use machine learning, statistics, and various technologies to analyze the data and find insights. Data scientists share their insights with the stakeholders, including the investors and upper management. 

Data Engineer

A data engineer manages the data starting from the raw source and ensures that it is processed, stored, and available in a required format to meet the data science and business goals. Data engineers are leaders who handle large amounts of raw data and ensure that the big data implementations of their organization match its goals and requirements. They are responsible for evaluating new conventional and unconventional data sources too. For more in-depth understanding, you may like to read What is Big Data Engineering or Modern Data Engineering?

Data Architect

A data architect is an expert who helps their organization to design and build the necessary big data infrastructure. They have to understand their organization’s needs to design the big data systems accordingly. Data architects work with other big data professionals to build data workflows and test the various prototypes. Read this to know What is Big Data Architecture, Its Types, Tools, and More?

Recent big data job trends: 

The pay for big data jobs is considerably high in comparison to many other tech domains. The average annual salary for a big data analytics professional is INR 12.8 lakh per year. Keep in mind that this number consists of beginner-level roles as well as senior ones. Companies only pay such lucrative salaries for skills when there’s a shortage of skilled talent. They are actively on the lookout for professionals who can meet the big data job requirements. 

The rising number of start-ups in the country has also contributed to increasing the demand for big data roles. Start-ups bring innovation and disruption to industry, and they rely on skilled talent to help them achieve their goals. Big data professionals are some of the most advanced tech professionals in any industry; hence, they attract attention from multiple fields. 

Globally, the big data market size is expected to grow from $ 138.9 billion in 2020 to $229.4 billion by 2025. Certainly, if the industry expands so much, then the demand for professionals will rise accordingly. 

Big Data Job Requirements

Big data roles require you to be familiar with multiple big data tools, including Apache Hadoop, MapReduce, Apache Spark, Pig, and others. These are industry staples and are necessary to store, process, and work with large quantities of data. 

To pursue job opportunities for big data analytics, you must have good programming skills as you’ll have to use Python, Java, and C++ while working with the different big data tools. Another crucial skill for this industry is machine learning, as it allows you to automate large processes and analyze data effectively. Classification, K-NN, CNN, and decision trees are some of the most popular machine learning algorithms big data experts use. 

You must also be familiar with data warehousing, and databases as storing the data is a key aspect of any big data process. You must also know how to share your insights effectively by using data visualization. 

What a Career in Big Data Offers You

There are many advantages to pursuing a career in big data. Here are some of those advantages: 

An in-demand field

There’s a steady demand for big data professionals. Moreover, the demand for such expertise is constantly increasing, so you wouldn’t have to worry about career security when you enter this field. Entering a booming industry will allow you to plan your career more comfortably and have more options on the table when looking for a big data job. 

Working with reputed brands

Big data professionals work in various industries, including healthcare, management consultancy, finance, and technology. Entering this field will give you the opportunity to work with some of the most reputed brands globally, including Adobe, Google, Microsoft, Flipkart, among others. 

Lucrative pay

A data engineer earns INR 8.37 lakh per year in India on average. Your pay in this role can go up to INR 20 lakh per year according to your experience and skills. There are many similar careers in big data, including data scientist, business analyst, and data architect. Certainly, the pay for big data roles is considerably high. To achieve an even higher pay, you can opt for a PG course.

FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Is Big Data in demand? 

Yes, big data is in demand. The big data industry is growing rapidly, even though it’s relatively new in the tech field. Some of the most prominent companies that operate in the big data field are IBM, Microsoft, Adobe, Salesforce, Google, and Oracle. A big data job requires a professional to be well-versed in handling huge quantities of data and using it to meet the requirements of their organization. Such professionals are familiar with the big data tools and technologies used in the industry. So, the number of big data professionals is quite limited while the demand is ever-increasing. 

 

You may also like to read: 12 Reasons Why Big Data Analytics is a Good Career

Q2. How can I work with Big Data?

You need to develop some technical skills to work with big data. It’s an interdisciplinary field and requires you to be familiar with multiple subjects, including mathematics, statistics, machine learning, and computer science. You must have knowledge of various big data tools used in the industry, including Hadoop, Pig, SQL & NoSQL, Hive, Apache Spark, along with a working knowledge of database management and data warehousing. You may like to read about 16 Best Big Data Analytics Tools And Their Key Features

Due to the variety of skills needed to fulfill a big data analyst job description, companies always look for certified professionals. That’s why it would be best to have a big data certification while pursuing a career in this sector. 

Conclusion

Now is the perfect time to pursue a career in big data. There’s a shortage of skilled big data professionals, and companies are actively on the lookout for big data experts. The market size of the big data industry is estimated to increase substantially over the coming years. As it will rise, the demand for big data professionals will rise accordingly.