How in-demand are data scientists? Let's start with Apple, the highest-valued tech company in history. To compete for big data scientists, Apple offers an annual salary of USD 160,000 to 200,000 (approximately NTD 4 to 6 million), along with every perk you can imagine: delicious employee meals, fitness centers, education allowances, and even egg-freezing subsidies. But Apple is not the only company in need of data scientists — a quick search on LinkedIn reveals at least 53,000 data scientist job openings, and that's just in the United States.
Robert Half, a leading U.S. professional recruitment firm, ranked big data engineers as one of the six industries with the highest salary growth in its "2015 Salary Guide," projecting an annual salary growth rate of 9.3%, with average annual salaries ranging from USD 119,250 to USD 168,250. Domestically, salaries range from NTD 1 million to NTD 5 million depending on experience.
You may have heard of many renowned data scientists, such as DJ Patil, the Chief Data Scientist of the White House, Paul Minton, named one of the Top 4 CTOs in the United States, or Che Pin-Chueh, the leading figure in big data at Alibaba Group. These prominent big data scientists often manage massive datasets for national governments or multinational corporations, which may seem far removed from ordinary people. In reality, however, big data scientists are urgently needed across all industries. You too can join the big data gold rush — but what kind of talent is suited for big data work? And what should you keep in mind if you want to ride the big data talent wave and join the ranks of high earners?
Vpon, a big data mobile advertising platform, is a Data Management Platform (DMP) and Real-Time Bidding (RTB) ad delivery company that analyzes mobile device data to identify precise marketing targets for its clients. With operations spanning Taiwan, Japan, China, and Hong Kong, data analysis is at the core of its business, and the data analytics department makes up the majority of its workforce. Vpon's Data Science R&D Managers Peng Chih-Ying and Chang Chia-Hsu, each with years of data analysis experience, share firsthand insights into what data scientists actually do and how to become one.