Data discourse over the years

You will encounter the terms “data science” and “data analytics” throughout this
program. Although these disciplines can be quite different in their scope, industry
professionals often use them interchangeably. It’s important to examine the
similarities and differences between data science and data analytics to better
understand the data career @ield and where your skills @it. In this reading, you’ll
learn more about data science, data analytics, and how the data profession has
evolved over time.

What is data science vs. data analytics

Data science is an entire @ield dedicated to making data more useful. A data
scientist is a professional that uses raw data to develop new ways to model data
and understand the unknown. Often, their job responsibilities incorporate various
components of computer science, predictive analytics, statistics, and machine
learning. The collections of information that data scientists work with can be quite
large, requiring expertise to organize and navigate.
Data analytics is a sub@ield of the larger data science discipline. The aim of data
analytics is to create methods to capture, process, and organize data to uncover
actionable insights for current problems. Analysts focus on processing the
information stored in existing datasets and establishing the best way to present
this data. Data analysts rely on statistics and data Modeling to solve problems and
offer recommendations that can lead to immediate improvements.
The following table presents a side-by-side comparison:

Data science Data analytics

• Produces broad insights that
• Emphasizes discovering answers
concentrate on which questions
to questions being asked
should be asked about data
• Confronts what is unknown by • Determines actionable insights
using advanced techniques to make that can be applied immediately
predictions about the future based on existing queries

The connections between data science and data analytics

Data science and data analytics share a fundamental goal: discover insights that
can be used to lead an organization to improve and grow. They are closely
connected with information gathered through interactions within the measurable
world. As data projects become more complicated, organizations are discovering
the advantages of assembling data teams, bringing data analysts and data
scientists together. Within these highly-collaborative working environments, data
scientists and data analysts work on common tasks using similar software
packages, tools, and programming languages. Additionally, the responsibilities of
data scientists and data analysts are impacted by a company’s resources,
budgetary constraints, and other factors which vary depending on the
organization and industry. The commonalities between data science and data
analytics within the workplace explain why practitioners and industry
professionals often use the two titles interchangeably. This has also extended to
job postings.
The data professional in the data career space
This program uses a few terms when addressing data science and data analytics
professionals. The term data professional is used when referring to data
scientists and analysts collectively. Data analytics professional is used to
highlight positions where the majority of tasks focus on data analytical processes.
The data career space functions as an inclusive term referencing the spectrum of
jobs and careers in data science and related areas. The intention for these
descriptors is to serve as inclusive labels—enabling the broadest possible
grouping of data science and data analytics related jobs and titles.
Career opportunities for data professionals span a wide range of industries. Each
with their individualized needs, demands, and responsibilities. It’s possible for
two employees with the same job title at two different organizations to have
different roles and tasks. To help clarify how careers across data science and data
analytics are described in this program, the data career space is used to collectively
refer to the variety of careers and job opportunities available to those with data
science skills.

The data career space over time

So far, you’ve been considering how data science and data analytics work together
in the data career space. This @ield has also been evolving and changing over time
as technology, data storage, data analysis, and communication has changed.
Progress in the @ield means that data professionals need to learn to adapt and
evolve to build and de@ine careers within this space—and understanding how the
data career space has evolved so far can help you do just that.
1965
In 1965, the world’s population was 3.3 billion. The Mariner 4 spacecraft took the
@irst close-up pictures of Mars. The @irst commercial communications satellite
allowed nearly instantaneous contact between Europe and North America.
Field Summary
Computations were still done by hand; companies were just
starting to invest in new computing technologies to assist
analysts. The @irst desktop programmable calculators
Technology
replaced room-sized computers. Users could backup
complex mathematical operations onto magnetic cards and
print the results.
Simple punch cards stored programming information.
These cards would be loaded in a speci@ic order to give
commands. Businesses allocated physical space to store the
thousands of data punch cards regular computer usage
Data storage
would generate. Larger organizations upgraded to magnetic
tape reels that could hold the equivalent of 50,000 punch
cards, or about 3 megabytes. But these reels still required a
lot of storage space within an of@ice.
As computer technology reduced in size and cost, more
Data analysis companies began to pivot away from doing computation
work by hand.
Field Summary
Documentation and correspondence were transformed by
the electric typewriter. Documents and messages were hand
delivered within of@ices. New telephone systems allowed
Communication
multiple incoming and outgoing lines, programmable
buttons for saving phone numbers and intercom abilities for
up to 30 extensions.

1985
In 1985, the world’s population was 4.8 billion. The internet’s domain name system
was created. A hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica was discovered. DNA is @irst
used in a criminal case.
Field Summary
Phone lines become the superhighways of communication.
By the 1980s, the scanning fax machine became a necessity
Technology for businesses, allowing them to quickly send and receive
documents. Desktops were now small enough for users to
have a personal computer. Windows 1.0 was released.
The @loppy disk format replaced data punch cards, allowing
Data storage 360 kilobytes of data storage. The average internal hard
drive capacity was 10 megabytes.
Data organization was revolutionized with the development
Data analysis of electronic spreadsheets. These programs @irst emulated
traditional @inancial ledgers.
Internal electronic messages or email were being used by
Communication government agencies, universities, and defence/military
industries to communicate.

2005
In 2005, the world’s population was 6.5 billion. The @irst video was uploaded to
YouTube. NASA’s Deep Impact space probe impacted a comet in motion.
Field Summary
Dial-up connections are replaced with high-speed
connectivity. Smart devices give an increasing number of
Technology people access to the internet, especially within urban areas.
Businesses become aware of the usefulness of their collected
user data.
Large-scale companies began digitizing and storing data
within cloud services. Filing cabinets full of documentation
Data storage were slowly being converted into data archives. Flash drives
reached the market, offering a gigabyte of portable storage
that could easily @it within a pocket.
Field Summary
Companies employed data analysis and predictive Modeling
as primary business elements. Customer interaction yields
datasets and data analysis opportunities, creating large
Data analysis repositories of unstructured data. Social media signi@icantly
elevated the need for tools, technologies, and analytics
techniques to gather useful information from unstructured
data.
Inter-department collaboration, worldwide email, and instant
Communication
messaging became available on smart devices.

Today
Today the world’s population is around 8 billion. The James Webb Space Telescope is
expanding our knowledge of the universe’s earliest moments.
Field Summary
Augmented and virtual reality offer interactive experiences,
enriched by computer-generated information. The Internet
of Things (IoT) connects a growing number of devices and
systems. Edge computing is becoming a common practice; it
Technology
is a way of distributing computational tasks over many
nearby processors (i.e., computers) that is good for speed and
resiliency and does not depend on a single source of
computational power.
Quantum computing, a type of computing that employs the
collective properties of quantum mechanics, is being
developed to increase processing and storage and solve
Data storage problems that are too complex for classical computers.
International efforts will continue to build quantum
computing systems with the necessary cooling systems, user
interfaces, networks, and storage capabilities.
Arti@icial intelligence is helping to speed up the rate of
innovation by augmenting human capabilities. This
technology resides at the intersection between social and
Data analysis
technological issues. Technological advances continue to be
inspired by biological and psychological knowledge about
how humans process and learn information.
Virtual meetings and online messaging have become
commonplace. Task management software is helping
Communication
organizations facilitate the completion of projects, allowing
workers across the globe to work asynchronously.
Key takeaways
Data science and data analytics are distinct but connected @ields that have
developed over time in the evolving data career space. Organizations often use
these terms interchangeably when hiring, so being able to recognize the
similarities and differences between the two professions will help you identify
opportunities that are aligned with your particular skill set. That’s why,
throughout this course, you will learn more about the data career space as a whole
and how data analytics professionals work within that space.