AIM 2020: Data Science

Recruitment Survey
(Job Seekers Perspective)

The Survey Report

covers the Data Science
Recruitment Scenario
from the Perspective of
Job Seekers

June 2020

www.aimresearch.ai
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CONTENT Introduction 4

Benefits & Takeaways in the Current 5

Scenario

Methodology & Response 6

Key Findings 7

Jobs Availability in the Current Crisis 8

Challenges Encountered During the Data 9

Science Recruitment Process

Necessity of Degree or Formal Education for 10

a Data Science Job/ Career

Significance of Formal Programming 11

Experience for a Job in Data Science

Significance of Prior Work Experience for a 12

Career in Data Science

Ease of Transition to Data Science and Analytics 13

Roles from Non-Science Backgrounds

Best Approach to Get an Entry-level Job in 15

Data Science

Utilization of Massive Online Open Courses 17

(MOOCs) for Re-skilling After Hiring

Resources or Tools Used to Up-skill or Prepare 18

for Data Science Recruitment

Industries and Sectors with the Most 19

Opportunities in Data Science

Sites or Resources Utilized to Find a Data 21

Science Job

Areas of Greatest Interest for Job Seekers 23

Cities that Offer the Most Job & Recruitment 25

Opportunities

Demographics 26

Conclusion 27
INTRODUCTION Data scientists, data engineers, and business analysts are now among
the most sought-after positions across functions – analytics is a sought-after function
across industries covering IT, Consulting, BFSI, and e-commerce, Fintech, to name a few.

While applying for jobs many applicants face the following challenges - what are the
challenges that jobs seekers face during the recruitment process; what are the target
industries that applicants would like to join; what are the best approaches to get an
entry-level job in Data Science? How easy is to transition to a Data Science role form a
Non-Science background? All these questions, and many others, are best answered by the
people who face these situations first-hand – Data Science and Analytics job seekers.

As part of the efforts to determine the challenges applicants face during the Data Science
and Analytics hiring process, AIMResearch, in association with AnalytixLabs, released
this recruitment survey aimed at job seekers across the Data Science community.

This year the survey was focused only at job applicants / job seekers. Moreover, this
year social media channels were utilized to reach out to a wider audience.

AIM has now published the findings of the survey in this report. The findings cover some
of the experiences of Data Science and Analytics job seekers, including the challenges
faced during the current downturn and reduced demand for analytics services.

4
BENEFITS & At the beginning of the year, there was a sharp increase in the demand
TAKEAWAYS IN for Analytics professionals. The open jobs figure for analytics reached a maximum in
THE CURRENT February – March 2020 – reaching a high of approximately 113,000 in the 1st week of
SCENARIO March, rising steadily from a figure of 97,000 last year.

However, the lockdown and the ensuing recession reduced the open job numbers
bringing the figures down to an average of 80,000 in May-June. A once thriving
recruitment market has been affected by the recession (a recession caused by the Covid –
19 pandemic).

This survey provides a direct perspective on the recruitment scenario from the
perspective of Data Science and Analytics job seekers. This report will benefit prospective
job seekers, including students, to understand the outlook of the broad Analytics job
market – including best approaches to apply for jobs, the sites and resources commonly
used by job seekers, the tools or approaches used to up-skill or prepare for an interview,
and the cities that offer the best opportunities for Data Scientists, to name a few
perspectives.

All these view-points are especially important to understand in the current recruitment
scenario, which is relatively subdued.

5
METHODOLOGY The report has been developed after rigorous primary research through
& RESPONSE the process of a survey distributed to job seekers and/or recent hires across the Analytics
and Data Science functions. This was complemented by direct discussions with job-
seekers to understand and gauge their perspective on hiring in this space.

This year AIM released the survey on social media channels, and as a result, the survey
received an incredible response from respondents.

6
KEY The Data Science and Analytics recruitment survey was released
FINDINGS in the first week of June – at the time when the lockdown was lifting and many
organizations had begun advertising open job positions and started the recruitment
process for roles in Data Science.

Please read on to understand the Key Findings of the Survey:

7
 Jobs Availability
In The Current Crisis

The jobs seekers’ experience and perspective on the availability of data science jobs in
the current crisis remains mixed, as there are respondents who believe that jobs will take
some time to emerge, while others believe that jobs are available.

37% of the respondents believe that Data Of the rest of the respondents surveyed,
Science Jobs are Available, which is the 16% believe that Jobs Might Not Emerge
highest and most optimistic response for for 1 Year – this is the most pessimistic of
all those surveyed. views of those surveyed.

18% believe that Jobs Might Emerge in 3 months, while 8% of the respondents
believe that Jobs Might Emerge in 1 Month.

21% believe that Jobs Might Not Emerge jobs are available – a largely optimistic
for 6 months – this is the 2nd most first-hand view from job seekers.
pessimistic view of those surveyed.

These figures clearly indicate that more

than a third of the respondents surveyed
believe that Analytics and Data Science

40%
37.0%
35%

30%

25%
21.0%
20% 18.0%
16.0%
15%
8.0%
10%

5%

0%

Jobs Might Not Jobs Might Not Jobs Might Emerge Jobs Might Emerge Data Science Jobs
Emerge for 1 Year Emerge for 6 Months in 3 Months in 1 Month Are Available

Data Science Job Availability in the Current Crisis

8
 Challenges Encountered During
The Data Science Recruitment
Process

There are many challenges that data science job seekers face during the hiring process.
Of these, the most challenging is the Lengthy Hiring Process for 39% of the job seekers.
Lack of Regular Communication from Recruiters is listed as the 2nd most challenging as
about 28% of the respondents face this challenge.

This covers the end-to-end process of
recruitment, including the time or gap
between rounds, or any positive or
negative feedback at the end of the entire
process. This is followed by 25% of the
respondents experience Insufficient
Evaluation of Data Science skills – these
specific job seekers have responded that
the recruitment process covers a more
rounded evaluation process rather than a
specific skills appraisal. According to the
job seekers the process should evaluate
Data Science and Technical skills rather
than generic skills.

Lack of post-hiring on-boarding is a challenge that 9% of the job seekers face.

This covers a possible detailed briefing on on-boarding that need to take place post
the job or role that the successful hiring. Other challenges are listed by 15%
applicant is expected to perform, and of the respondents.
the processes of training and overall

45%
39.0%
40%

35%

30%
27.5%
25.0%
25%

20%
15.0%
15%
9.0%
10%

5%

0%
Lengthy Hiring Lack of Regular Insufficient Lack of Post-hiring Others
Process Communication Evaluation of Data On-boarding
from Recruiters Science Skills

9 Challenges Encountered During Data Science Recruitement Process

 Necessity Of Degree Or Formal Education
For A Data Science Job/Career

The necessity of a Degree or Formal Education for Analytics and Data Science hiring is
identified by 35% of the respondents.

This is a straight-forward response from
the survey takers as formal education lays
the foundation for a career in any given
field.
About 23% of the respondents believe
that Online Certifications and Courses are
Sufficient for Hiring in Data Science.
Given the shift to decentralized learning
and self-paced instruction, this option is
gaining popularity across the Data Science
community. 17% of the respondents
believe that on-the-job learning with no
formal learning is sufficient for a career in
Data Science.
While 13% of the respondents believed
that Free Online Courses are sufficient for
data science hiring.

40%

35.0%
35%

30%

25% 23.0%

20%
17.0%
15%
13.0% 12.0%

10%

5%

0%
Yes - Formal No - Online No - On-the- No - Free Online Others
Education is Courses are job Learning is Resources are
Essential Sufficient Sufficient Sufficient

Necessity of a Degree/Formal Education for a Job in Data Science

10
 Significance Of Formal
Programming Experience For A
Job In Data Science

Formal Programming experience is a critical part of a job or role in analytics and data
science or technology; however, on-the-job learning is equally significant.

40% of the respondents feel that on the 20% of the respondents believe that
job learning balances Formal Formal Programming Experience is of
Programming Experience, and that both Marginal significance and that on the job
are Significant for a career in Analytics. learning is sufficient.

29% of the respondents feel that Formal 11% of the respondents believe that
Programming is very significant and Programming Skills are irrelevant for a
on-the-job learning on its own is data science job.
insufficient.

45%
40.0%
40%

35%
30% 29.0%

25%

20% 20.0%

15%

10%
11.0%

5%

0%
Significant - On- Very Significant - Marginal Insignificant - Formal
the-job Learning On-the-job Learning Significance - On- Programming
Balances Formal is Insufficient the-job Learning is Experience is Irrelevant
Experience Sufficient

Significance of Formal Programming Experience for a Job in Data Science

11
 Significance Of Prior Work Experience
For A Career In Data Science

Prior work experience in a defined field or area lends significance to any future career or
job prospect. For data science careers, 35% of the job seekers have experienced that
prior experience of 5+ years is very significant for Analytics and Data Science hiring or
jobs.

33% of the applicants feel that prior
experience is significant but not crucial
as similar experience in IT or Statistics
is sufficient for a job or career in data
science.
13% of the job seekers who responded
to the survey feel that domain or indus-
try is sufficient for a job in data science
and that prior experience is of marginal
significance.

19% of the respondents feel that prior

work experience is not required or
necessary for a job in data science.

40%
35.0%
35% 33.0%
30%
25%
19.0%
20%
15% 13.0%

10%
5%

0%
Very Significant - Significant but not Insignificant - Work Marginal Significance
Hiring is Contigent Crucial -Similar IT/ Experience is not - Domain or Industry
on 5+ Years Work Domain Work Expe- Required for Data Work Experience is
Experience rience is Crucial Science Sufficient

Significance of Prior Work Experience for a Career in Data Science

12
 Ease Of Transition To
Data Science And Analytics Roles
From Non-Science Backgrounds

The ease of transition from one role to another role, especially across specialties or
technical backgrounds can be difficult depending on the complexity of the domain or
industry knowledge.

For the analytics and data science
domain, 48% of the job seekers feel that
it is difficult to transition to Data Science
from a Non-Science background, as skills
and domain expertise specific to Data
science roles require time and formal
education or experience to master.
28% of the respondents believe that it is
possible to transition as domain or
industry expertise and some degree of
technical know-how are sufficient for roles
in Data Science. This is especially true for
a role in BFSI or Pharma as domain
experience and knowledge industry-
specific processes and workflows are all
important for an analytics career in these
industries.
While a technical education is important
to have a career in Data Science or IT, it is
possible to some extent in today’s
environment to transition to a technology
role through domain Expertise or with
online learning and training.

13% of the respondents believe that the transition is easy with online
training and free learning supporting the transition. However, 11% of the
respondents feel that it is not possible for Non-science professionals to
transition to a career in Data Science.

13
 60%

48.0%
50%

40%

28.0%
30%

20%
13.0%
11.0%
10%

0%
Difficult - Data Possible - Easy - Online Impossible for
Science Skills are Domain Expertise Training & Free Non-Science
Specific to Job is Sufficient Learning Aid Professionals
Roles Transition

Ease of Transition to Data Science and Analytics Roles from

Non-Science Backgrounds

14
 Best Approach To Get An
Entry-level Job In Data Sciece

There are many approaches adopted by job seekers to enter a career or role in data
science. The best approach identified by job seekers is Internship with Organizations,
which comes immediately after completing a degree or program with an institute.

69% of the respondents believe that an Moreover, it places a great deal of

internship is the best approach to get weightage on industry-institute
a foothold in a data science role in an partnerships, which facilitate internships
organization, and this is significant as it for graduating students.
lays emphasis on the networking at a very
early stage to land an internship in an
organization.

43% of the respondents believe that the best approach is to Network

and Collaborate across communities.

Specific tech and data science communi- The importance of Networking cannot be
ties, such as Github and StackOverflow emphasized enough given the strength of
are gaining popularity for showcasing this response.
skills and networking with professionals
across companies for prospective projects
(and jobs) in Data Science.

40% of the participants believe that participation in Hackathons is the

best approach to get an entry-level job. Many organizations now
conduct recruitment focused hackathons to recruit and hire tech and
data science talent.

15
 Moreover, Hackathons have emerged as
a medium to showcase talent in the Data
science domain, with many organizations
sponsoring and monitoring hackathons
to identify talent for specific roles. Hence,
this approach is gaining popularity with
both job seekers and firms alike.
Campus placements once the most
preferred approach for a Technology job,
is now the favourable approach for 29%
of data science job seekers.
While another popular approach in the
past - Applying directly on Job portals and
with Recruiters is now the approach for
only 25% of the job applicants.
Finally, approaching references across
organizations and attending workshops
are best approaches for 21% and 15% of
the applicant audience, respectively.

80%
69.0%
70%

60%
50%
43.0%
40.0%
40%
29.0%
30% 25.0% 21.0% 15.0%
20%

10%
0%
Internship with Network & Participation Campus Apply Directly Approach Attend
Organisations Collaborate - in Hackathons Placements (Job Portals or References in Workshops/
Communities Recruiters) Organisations Events
(GitHub etc.) (Machinecon etc.)

Best Approach to Get an Entry-level Job in Data Science

16
 Utilisation Of
Massive Online Open Courses
(MOOCs) For Re-skilling After
Hiring

Massive Online Open Courses or MOOCs are now extensively adopted by technology
professionals to up-skill in a given domain or larger technology area. The adoption of
MOOCs among the data science community is no different.

34% of the respondents mentioned that and Upskill, while the same figure of 30%
they Very Frequently Utilize MOOCs to mentioned that they Occasionally Utilize
Reskill and Upskill after Hiring. MOOCs.

30% of the respondents mentioned that

they Frequently Utilize MOOCs to reskill

40%
34.0%
35%
30.0% 30.0%
30%

25%

20%

15%

10%
6.0%
5%

0%
Very Frequently Frequently Occasionally Never

Utilisation of MOOCs for Re-skilling After Hiring

17
 Resources Or Tools Used To
Up-skill Or Prepare For Data
Science Recruitment

Of all the resources and tools for up-skilling and preparing for recruitment, online self-
paced learning has emerged as the most preferred method as 66% of the respondents
have favoured this method for preparation and building capabilities.

Online certifications are favoured by 27% Overflow have emerged as preferred

of the respondents – this would fall in the resources for preparation by 15% of the
category of online structured learning. respondents.

Online Assisted Learning, which is
a blend of self-paced and structured
learning, is favoured by 19% of the
respondents. Forums for Networking and
Engagement, such as Git Hub and Stack
Workshops & Events, such as MLDS and
Machine Con, are preferred by 15% of
the respondents. Finally, other methods
of upskilling are preferred by 8% of the
respondents.

70% 66.0%

60%

50%

40%

30% 27.0%

19.0%
20%
15.0% 15.0%
8.0%
10%

0%
Online Self-paced Online Online Assisted Forums to Workshops Others
Learning Certifications Learning Network & & Events
Engage (GitHub)

Resources or Tools for Up-skilling or Preparing for Recruitement

18
 Industries And Sectors With The
Most Opportunities In Data
Science

Of all the sectors covered, the broad IT sector has once again emerged as the sector that
respondents feel provides the most opportunities for career in analytics and data science.

Apart from the large range of opportuni-
ties that the IT sector provides, the signif-
icance of this in the current scenario is all
the more compelling as the IT and ITES
companies typically provide the
maximum job security and stability in
times of recessions and crisis. Hence, 41%
of Data Science job seekers have identified
this sector with the most opportunities.

In terms of opportunities, the IT sector is followed by the BFSI sector, which

32% of the job seekers have identified as the sector with the most
opportunities.

This is followed by the broad e-commerce 22% of the respondents of the survey have
and Digital Media sector. The growth of identified these 2 sectors providing
both these 2 industries over the last year opportunities for data science job seekers.
signifies the opportunities available across
analytics and data science in terms of
customer segmentation and analytics.

From the job seekers’ perspective, Pharma & Healthcare has emerged as a
sector that provides significant opportunities, with 11% of the respondents
identifying this sector as the one with most opportunities.

The remainder of the sectors Retail and to applicants, offer 8% and 4% of

Auto & Manufacturing have been affected opportunities respectively.
by the recessionary trends and, according

19
 45%
41.0%
40%

35%
32.0%
30%

25%
22.0%
20%

15%
11.0%
10% 8.0%
4.0% 5.0%
5%

0%
ES SI ia re il g er
s
IT BF ed ca ta rin th
M lth Re ctu O
&
ital ea u fa
IT ig H
an
D & M
a
c e& a rm e&
er Ph iv
m ot
om o m
e-c
Aut

Industries and Sectors with the Most Opportunities

20
 Sites Or Resources Utilised
To Find A Data Science Job

For specific sites or resources utilized to find a job in analytics or data science, LinkedIn
has once again emerged at the top of the bracket across the Data Science job seeking
community.

This year, 82% of the respondents have The leading job site Naukri.com is
mentioned that they utilize the profession- preferred by 21% of the job seeking
al networking site to find a job. community.

This lends credence to a networking-

focused method of seeking jobs in not
just the data science but also the broader
technology sector.

Company Websites, where recruiters post their applications directly against

opportunities or vacancies, has emerged as the preferred resource for 11%
of the community.

Connections and Networks is preferred by and Shine.com are preferred by the rest of
7% of the community. Other sites, such as the community.
MonsterIndia, IIMjobs.com, TimesJobs,

21
 90%
82.0%
80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%
21.0%
20%
11.0% 7.0%
10% 7.0%
4.0% 3.0% 2.0% 1.0%
0%
In m es or
k m m m om er
s
ed i.co sit w .co .co .co .c th
in
k
kr eb et di
a s s ne O
ob ob i
L au yW N
rIn J es
j Sh
N
pa
n s & te IIM m
m on on
s Ti
Co ti
n ec M
Con

Sites or Resources Utilised to Find a Data Science Job

22
 Areas Of Greatest Interest
For Job Seekers

Across all the industries and areas of greatest interest for job seekers, the broad
Technology and IT domain is of greatest interest and preferred by about 56% of the job
seekers in analytics and data science.

The BFSI sector emerges as the area Logistics and Supply-chain, the operations
of second preference with 41% of the focused domain, is of interest for 29% of
respondents. Customer Analytics is pre- the job seeking audience.
ferred by 33% of the job seekers.

This is followed by the Digital and Social

Media analytics, which is preferred by
31% of the job seeker audience.

The upcoming sector around analytics in Smart Cities and Transport, which
covers smart infrastructure, smart utilities, autonomous cars, connected
cars, among others, which is of interest to 21% of the audience.

Sales and Marketing, which includes digi- alytics professionals can make an impact
tal marketing, targeted audience segments, and a difference, and hence has emerged
and sales forecasting is preferred by 20% as a preferred area of interest for 16% of
of the audience. the audience.

Analytics in Government services, which

would cover Agriculture and Social Initia-
tives, is emerging as a sector in which an-

The area of Customer Service, including customer support, service

automation is the preferred area of interest for 12% of the audience.

23
 60% 56.0%

50%
41.0%
33.0%
40%
31.0%
29.0%
30%
21.0% 20.0%
20% 16.0% 12.0%
8.0%
10%

0%
Technology BFSI Customer Digital/ Logistics Smart Sales & Government Customer Others
(IT, Fintech Analytics Social & Supply Cities & Marketing Services Service
etc.) Media Chain Transport

Areas of Greatest Imterest for Job Seekers

24
 Cities That Offer The Most
Job & Recruitment Opportunities

Across all the cities that offer the most Data Science and Analytics opportunities, Benga-
luru has once again emerged as the leading city among job seekers, with 87% of the job
seeking audience voting Bengaluru as the destination for most opportunities.

Mumbai has emerged at the 2nd position Valley in creating jobs and offering the
with 4.5% of the audience identifying it as maximum number of opportunities to the
the destination for most job opportunities. job seekers.

This is followed by Delhi at 4% and By attracting technology companies, start-

Hyderabad at 2%. The large gap be- ups, and IT firms Bengaluru has emerged
tween Bengaluru and the rest of the cities as the favoured destination for analytics
signifies the importance of India’s Silicon opportunities.

100%
90% 87.0%
80%

70%

60%

50%
40%

30%
20%

10% 4.5% 4.0% 4.0%

2.0%
0%
Bengaluru Mumbai Delhi/NCR Hyderabad Others

Cities that Offer the Most Job and Recruitement Opportunities

25
DEMOGRAPHICS The demographics of the job seekers covered fresh graduates seeking opportunities and
also personnel seeking new ventures across the analytics space. The respondents were
evenly distributed across these two categories. Moreover, the respondents covered
personnel largely from the tech hub of Bengaluru, followed by the Finance hub of
Mumbai. Delhi-NCR respondents were moderately represented in the survey. Other
locations, such as Hyderabad and Pune were represented at the end the of location
spectrum.

26
CONCLUSION As the overall Data Science and Analytics market evolves to adapt to
the recession it is important that both Analytics job seekers and the Data Science
community understand the trends in hiring and get a pulse of the job market.

The job seeking community remains moderately optimistic and upbeat on the availability
of jobs in the current environment and about a third of the community believes that jobs
are available despite the recessionary environment.

The experience of the community during the job-hunting process reveals the following
significant aspects of applying for data science jobs:
• On-the-Job learning balances Formal Programming Experience, and both are signifi-
cantly important for a career in Analytics
• Prior experience of 5+ years is very significant for Analytics and Data Science hiring
• Almost half the job seekers feel that it is difficult to transition to Data Science from a
Non-Science background
• A large majority of the respondents believes that an internship is the best approach
to get a foothold in a data science role in an organization – this emphasizes the im-
portance of networking at a very early stage to land an internship in an organization.
• About 2/3rd of the respondents have experienced that online self-paced learning has
emerged as the most preferred method for preparation and building capabilities
• A significant majority of the respondents utilize LinkedIn to find a job
• IT and ITES companies have emerged as the industries with the most opportunities
for job seekers
• The job seeking audience has overwhelming voted Bengaluru as the destination for
most analytics and data science opportunities

27
About AIMResearch
AIMResearch provides rigorous, objective research and advisory to organizations
that plan to achieve higher levels of success with their analytics implementations.
AIMResearch’s single, overriding goal is to equip clients with the insights, advice and tools
they need to create a well-oiled, data driven enterprise.

Visit AIMResearch at www.aimresearch.ai

About AnalytixLabs
AnalytixLabs pioneers in analytics training since 2011 and as one of the first analytics
training institutes, it is widely acclaimed and known for high quality training by industry
experts themselves. After establishing themselves as the top analytics training institute in
Delhi NCR, they slowly and steadily progressed to earn the same reputation pan India, based
on their stellar record and student satisfaction.

Their students are placed in leading companies across industries like Accenture, American Ex-
press, AbsolutData, Axtria, Bank of America and McKinsey. They are focused at helping their
clients develop skills in basic and advanced analytics to enable them to emerge as
“Industry Ready” professionals and enhance their career opportunities. It was co-founded by
Sumeet Bansal, Ankita Gupta and Chandra Mouli.

Visit AnalytixLabs at www.analytixlabs.co.in

Analytics India Magazine
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30