Do Data Scientists Code?

When searching for a potential career, you might be wondering about some of the finer details.

Data Science is a vast and difficult field to break into.

It is an essential part of modern technology industry and research and it requires a lot of knowledge and competence to get into.

It’s a great career to choose because of the lack of people with real skills in this field, but if you’re considering this as a career, you might have a lot of questions about what Data Scientists actually do.

If you find yourself wondering about whether or not Data Scientists Code, then you’ve come to the right place!

In this article, we’re going to break down everything to do with coding in relation to the profession of Data Scientist.

We’re going to look at what an average project might look like for a Data Scientist, and how they use coding within their profession to help them.

We’ve also included a short FAQ that will help explain some of the other aspects of this unique and much sought-after profession.

Does A Data Scientist Need To Code?

We’re going to start out by answering the basic question. In short – yes they do!

A ‘Data Scientist’ is a diverse job role with a lot of different responsibilities and duties, but almost all Data Scientists at least have a basic understanding of how to code, even if they don’t do it every single day.

Something to note is that the amount of actual coding a Data Scientist might do depends on a variety of different factors.

For example, a Data Scientist might need to have a good grasp of the Python programming language in order to create prototypes of a new application or feature.

This will allow them to then better communicate with actual developers, who will use the insights and information gained by the Data Scientist to better create the product.

Some of the most common programming languages that a Data Scientist will need to be familiar with include:

• Java
• Javascript
• Python
• C/C++
• Scala

What Is A Data Scientist

So let’s backtrack a little and talk about what a Data Scientist actually is.

A Data Scientist is a job role that involves gathering and then analyzing data.

A Data Scientist is going to be well versed in statistics, math and computer science.

They are often employed by companies to create action plans to solve a wide variety of different issues.

Data scientists work mostly with analysis, using more specific skills within technology and an understanding of social science to identify trends and patterns.

As you can see, this job role is quite wide in scope, and if you’re a student trying to figure out if this is the right career for you, it can be hard to narrow down what you might actually do as a Data Scientist.

The most important thing to note is that a Data Scientist is a person who is good with data and statistics, but also with computer science.

And, this knowledge of computer science can often be very specific, even including knowledge of programming languages.

A Data Scientist isn’t going to be a master at a specific language in the same way a developer will be, but they will be able to understand enough to work with people more competent than them in order to extract data, or use that data to make something that will benefit their company.

Will I Learn To Code In A Data Science Degree?

Data Science Degrees are all about giving you the wide variety of skills you will need in order to be effective within the industry.

They will usually aim to give you a wide variety of skills including data analysis, creating or using data science systems, and other industry-standard tools to address the needs of a company or to fix real world problems.

Modern Data Science degrees will also introduce you to Artificial Intelligence principles as well as Blockchain technology (which is becoming increasingly prevalent).

This does include coding, though it is unlikely you’ll be able to learn a wide variety of different programming languages throughout the course.

Generally, if you want to become a Data Scientist, it’s best to learn as much as you can about different programming languages alongside your studies.

It’s also worth noting that the languages you are likely to interact with over the course of your career will depend entirely on the specific projects you work on.

Some people may employ data scientists purely for their knowledge of a specific programming language.

Final Thoughts

So to put it bluntly, if you want to become a Data Scientist you are going to have to have at least a basic knowledge of a few different programming languages.

Whilst you won’t have to have specialized knowledge in the way a web developer might, you will need to be able to communicate with other job roles such as this, and knowledge of languages is essential for this.

We hope that this article has given you a foundation of knowledge to use when further researching the field and that you now feel a lot more confident about the relationship between Data Scientists and coding.

If you still have some questions, check out our short FAQ section below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Data Science Easier Than Coding?

This is very subjective, and the answer depends on your specific skills.

It’s worth noting that Data Scientists tend to be experts at data analysis, and then apply that data to create unique plans to fix problems.

Programmers tend to be masters in multiple programming languages.

Which is easier depends on your skills, knowledge, and the type of person you are!

Can I Learn Data Science In 4 Months?

Data Science is a vast and difficult field that usually takes people years to build up a level of competency.

Within 4 months you can certainly learn the basics, as well as some of the specific tools and strategies commonly used, but Data Science is a profession that often takes years to become very good at, so a 4 month time period might be stretching that limit.