You Probably Shouldn’t Major in Data Science…

[@stephenbernardo7288]

Perfect timing! Thiis sounds about right as I just started doing my research for my other masters degree, preferably quant-heavy and related to Data Science, as you said. Thank you for the insights! I may or may not end up in a data science degree but at least I know what to look for in a curriculum.

[@cuesee.psyche]

When I search through data science/analyst jobs around me, I notice that usually the degree is not that important; that they are more focused on practical skills in SQL, Python and/or R.

[@ChristianGardner]

Correct. I personally think Stats or CS will prepare you with those skills more

[@AndrewTheVikings]

Damn. And I was about to join in tripleten for data science. Thank you for your information.

[@knewzi3152]

Hey Chris, thanks for your input. I am going to apply to state universities specifically UCs this fall and I was debating between data science and statistics. This video resolves doubts I had about a statistics major.

[@ChristianGardner]

I’m glad to hear that 🙏🏼 good luck

[@jarg7]

I was in a MS computer sci program but switched to data science MS. CS is very broad and you end up taking a bunch of classes you will never use whereas data science degrees tend to focus on the core skills for on the job. I think this take is missing the mark for what a ds degree offers. If you are unsure of if you want to keep your options open go CS but if you really know you want become a data scientist it makes much more sense to do a DS MS, otherwise, you'll have to spend a lot of extra time learning the data skills that you probably would miss out on as a CS major.

[@ChristianGardner]

The video was not about advanced degrees but thank you for your perspective!!

[@jarg7]

@@ChristianGardner oh ok in terms of undergrad I would say I agree a cs degree is the best choice.

[@manofsteel9051]

Agreed. Best way to become a data scientist could be to major in cs in undergrad and do stats for your masters or stats in undergrad and cs for your masters if you college allows that. This will also give you a much wider range of job options compared to getting a data science degree. I also kinda have the same issues with artifical intelligence degrees

[@Apuryo]

As a fellow penn state student, I was going to major in applied statistics. It was a really good balance, and i was able to learn a lot more hard skills. I did decide to double major in computational mathematics as it had many things that I found useful and I realyl enjoy math. I now am a double major in computational mathematics and data science with a focus on statistical modeling because PSU doesn't let us take two degrees in the same college. I would say that the statistical modeling option at PSU is actually a pretty good major with less bs compared to other schools, but even at PSU if i was going to get a single major it would be applied statistics.

[@ChristianGardner]

Interesting take, good for you and best of luck 🙏🏼

[@BiologyIsHot]

I would argue that a data science degree, if it really does a decent job of a covering math, stats, and comp sci doesn't pidgeon you in more than a stats degree does at all. Also frkm somebody who does have a PhD I can tell you 100% that these degree listings are not as literal as you make it out to be. If you are still in undergrad you might not yet understand that job listings are at best wishlists for a hiring manager and at worst a quick writeup by an HR person with no idea about the role. There are more math, stats, and comp sci grads. I am not even aware of any data science PhD programs, only masters ones. And it is far more common for these major tech companies to be looking for a PhD. There are fewer PhDs I nwuantitative fields so listing every single possible degree isn't a priority. They usually also take physics, linguistics (if focused on computational work) and other sciences with a strong quantitative degree. You might be shocked to learn also that nof all universities even attribute a strict label to the PhDs they award since there may be nuance within the field. I think in a relatively short order there will be many strong data science degrees out there and that those people will be very well positioned. THAT said. There is nothing stopping you from doing soemthing like a comp sci/stats double major or major/minor situation. Stats degrees in my experience don't have much ML work, although there is no reason you cannot dip into a course in a comp sci dept at msot universities. I would also say that most statisticians have way too much of a hard-on for R (which is an awful language, unfortunately). For these large companies having somebody with experience in Python, SQL, and a lower level language like C, C++, or Java is something I would like to see become more commonplace. R is not at all suited to production code. It's great for one off analyses built around a statistical inference problem. But beyond a shiny app/dashboard I wouldn't ever want to touch it for production code.

[@ChristianGardner]

Nothing beats experience, like I said in the video

[@sorvex9]

I majored in data science and now have 3 years of experience as a machine learning engineer. Things turned out great for me :-) If you have passion, it really doesnt matter what degree you choose.

[@ChristianGardner]

That is awesome 👏🏻

[@kingtryton]

This is great!! Gives me hope

[@yardogyuh2049]

idk about this most of those companies specifically said "other quantitative fields" which would most definitely include data science.

[@ChristianGardner]

Sure you are probably right, but from what I’ve seen data science majors don’t really go into details with “quantitative” fields.. they seem to focus on the how and not necessarily the why

[@yardogyuh2049]

@@ChristianGardner I see and that's a great point. Luckily my college has a statistics and data science major combined so I'm not too worried lol. Fair points nonetheless

[@saisreekar4425]

Data science is growing field in industry but academically it's Unorganized. It's better to major in stats or computer science because in my country they were relying more on data science for sake of commercial benefits. I think data science course curriculum requires more revision.

[@ChristianGardner]

Absolutely agree, really the message I was trying to convey 😎

[@dreaminderek9365]

Appreciated the realistic and thoughtful video Chris. 💖😇

[@ChristianGardner]

Thank you as always, I appreciate your support!

[@TxRogue]

Bro we’re living the same lives, possibly thousands of miles apart. I got accepted and am between MS DS or MS STAT. I have to decide now since the semester starts 8/22. I always had the same thought of DS degrees since university offered both Stat and DS undergraduate degrees and EVERYONE was a DS major. I was 1 of 3 from that cohort that graduated with a Stats degree. And now for my graduate studies I was thinking of switching to DS for versatility, but it just doesn’t sit with me. Now that you’ve spoken what I’ve been thinking I’ll be picking Stats. My mentor said “A statistician can be a data scientist, but a data scientist can’t be a statistician”

[@ChristianGardner]

there’s definitely still value in it but that’s a choice you have to make for yourself!

[@jarg7]

stats dont learn much code, i would definately go for a more well rounded DS degree

[@masterqz7326]

Very true. I completely agree with you and feel like a DS degree is too much of a pigeon hole. My school just started to offer DS as a major last term and I looked over it and it just looks like jumble of classes. We do mostly the same in statistics while also learning about other program languages and learning useful math.

[@ChristianGardner]

Absolutely, I’m sure there are good programs but from what I’ve seen a lot of them are exactly like you are describing

[@roseb2105]

do you think by getting a statitistic undergrad we whould be ok for getting a data analyst job as weell?

[@ChristianGardner]

Well yes of course I graduated in December with a Statistics degree and I’m a data analyst now 🤓

[@lnx8319]

I mean it depends on what schools you go to, if your data science degree is coming from schools like MIT Berkeley Umich, you’re going to be just as employable as any CS or stat majors for the same jobs

[@ChristianGardner]

Yes, and it ultimately doesn’t matter that much anyways.. Degrees are useless without real experience

[@kanishkbansalsvcdu-statist1052]

Should I as a stat major student focus more on statistical proofs or there application

[@ChristianGardner]

Well what do you want to do with it? If you want to work in industry after graduation.. work on application.. if your plan is to go to grad school definitely focus more on proofs

[@kanishkbansalsvcdu-statist1052]

Thanks

[@philip3413]

whats the difference between majoring in data science and statistics for example, what if the data science program provides better education

[@ChristianGardner]

The difference is that MOST of the time statistics professors will be able to teach you math and statistics much better than a data science professor (seriously some schools have data science courses that try to teach you these subjects) and if the professor is not a professional in teaching these subjects than a statistics major is much better than data science .. not true all the time

[@BelkisQuirogaE]

hey, can I ask you a question? I don't know yet if I want to be a data scientist, a statistical/data engineer, a data analyst or a statistician, because I don't understand the differences very well. In my country, there are only 2 majors related directly to this. Statistics and Statistical engineering with data science. I looked and the salaries for stats engineers are higher than statisticians here, but I don't know if I should major in statistics as you say. Here, the stats degree is also relatively new, and the stats engineering degree is even newer. other majors that can become data scientists are industrial engineering, comercial engineering (fancy name for business here), or civil engineers in mathematics. But I am mostly interested in stats and I don't know if I wanna major in other engineering other than stats one. Which major should I pursue? I would really appreciate your insight! Also, it's hard to make a decision when most of the information about these fields is in English, and I try to make a decision for the economy of my country, so it is a bit confusing sometimes.

[@ChristianGardner]

I think at that point you need to look into the curriculums .. it’s not that newer major is bad, but a newer Major where business people are teaching advanced mathematics is probably not great.. I personally believe the harder and more general the major the better … more options + less competition (less people with impressive degrees) best of luck 🤞

[@BelkisQuirogaE]

@ChristianGardner thank you for your response! The classes are taught by the math department and sometimes also by the computer science department. The thing is, even though is a statistics degree, it is kind of new in my country. The first generation of graduates from it was in 1998. And since it's relatively new in my country it doesn't have a lot of competition and it pays well. The thing that worries me is that there are other professions that apart from doing what they do, they can also do this same job, and are more well known, but more competitive. Some companies look for someone that studied stats engineering only and some others look for any mathematical related degree, and some just ask for certain engineerings. Based on this further info, could you give me your updated opinion on what do you think is the best path for me? Sorry again for bumping with info, but I don't have a lot of people to ask for advice. Have a great day! Keep up the good work!

[@ChristianGardner]

@@BelkisQuirogaE I can’t say 100%, but I am willing to bet a statistics degree will make you competitive.. I haven’t heard of the other degrees though so that should be factored in your decision!

[@damonmartin1572]

I think you should specialise in AI and that be default opens up all data science jobs. It's just as good, if not better than a CS degree. However, in the UK the overlap in the bachelors is massive so it isn't much difference interms of content. Heck even my software engineering degree is 50% AI & Data Science and 50% regular software engineering like full stack dev in my final year.

[@HashimHaroon-ji8lb]

How is a bs statistics with specialisation in data science?

[@ChristianGardner]

I think that’s a better route tbh

[@HashimHaroon-ji8lb]

@@ChristianGardner will I become a proper data scientist it's course consists of all statistics courses including Computing statistics I Computing statistics II Big Data analysis Tools(python, R, SQL) DATA mining technique Deep learning Stimulation modelling Statistical machine learning

[@ChristianGardner]

@@HashimHaroon-ji8lb I’m not too sure, that sounds like a good curriculum though

[@aryankrishnaneeli6400]

Hey Chris! I’m currently slated to learn data science at UTD. Could you check its course load and let me know if I should try switching into Computer Science? Also, should I consider doing a CS- Statistics double major?

[@user-hr4vi5lr1o]

Hello , is getting a statistics and data science degree in bachelor is a good option ? Cause unfortunately I couldn’t go to cs college so currently I finished the first year of science college and I’m hesitant about getting that degree Also I want to take a master degree that relates to computer science So is it a good option?

[@ChristianGardner]

@@user-hr4vi5lr1o I think it can be a great option, just make sure you don’t neglect personal projects and internships

[@benh5873]

Hey Christian, just wondering what you would think about doing a Bachelor of Data science and not a major?

[@ChristianGardner]

Unless I’m missing something, those are the same thing!

[@josha3212]

​@@ChristianGardner I THINK HE MEANT MASTERS😩

[@jack_sparrow1049]

Hi, I right now I am 1st year ug in computer science but I am really interested in Statistics but unfortunately I was very poor at math's in my secondary school. Can you give some advice on how should I do my basics because I want to do my masters in Statistics .😅 I still have 2 years to finish my UG.

[@ChristianGardner]

I do have a couple videos on the math of a statistics major

[@spideysarchives4086]

I’m Majoring in data science But the DS major in my school is a good program

[@spideysarchives4086]

A lot of the ds programs I’ve seen aren’t that good But the school I chose has a good one

[@J.Ige65]

What university?

[@spideysarchives4086]

@@J.Ige65 unt

[@troyebeyonce]

but if i take a masters in statistics won't that lead to becoming a stastician?

[@ChristianGardner]

Not necessarily, not even the most likely path

[@jonaskhanwald5920]

Suggest some KZbin channels to learn statistics 😭

[@ChristianGardner]

Always khan academy, if you are looking for data analyst data scientist stuff .. check out Keith galli..

[@ryanknight4465]

I'm going into college next year and planning on majoring in stats, hopefully at U of Georgia or Virginia. Would you recommend double majoring in stats and data science?

[@ChristianGardner]

I think that depends, I honestly would not recommend it just because a double Major would require even more of a time commitment (stats is very time consuming). I would consider minoring in data science, but if I could relive my college experience I would have majored in computer science and minored in stats!

[@Austinadams-]

In u of Virginia, you can’t double major in stats and data science. Data science is only offered as a minor. You can choose to do applied stats and have a concentration in data science tho.

[@abyadahmedayan6881]

What about a minor ?

[@ChristianGardner]

@@abyadahmedayan6881 could be a good minor