How To Become a Data Scientist in Nigeria

How to become a data scientist in Nigeria, learn the skills you need, and how to build a successful data science career, on Mitrobe network.

What is Data Science? 

Individuals, businesses and organizations generate and use data on a daily basis. And with the world being in a digital age, it is unsurprising that thousands of companies are engaging the services of professionals for technical data generation, analysis and application.

In the business of digital data management, data science, big data and data analytics are essential fields with professionals highly sought after by service companies.

Generally, data science, big data and data analytics are all facets of the data-specific field of science and in the simple sense, they share certain features. However, in the broad sense, they are different from each other and this is why reading this article further will help you understand the differences between these three data-specific fields particularly with respect to their use cases.

An Overview of Data Science

Data science is a field concerned with the integration of programming, mathematics, statistics, etc. for the purpose of generating information and insights from data. Broadly, data science incorporates a range of activities including data preparation, data cleansing, data alignment, data analysis and expert ways of capturing data.

As a scientific field, data science necessitates the ability to solve data-related problems involving both structured and unstructured data.

Use cases of data science

• On search engines, data science algorithms help execute the swift delivery of effective results for search queries entered by search engine users. What this implies is that data science is very useful in internet search
• Another use case of data science is in digital marketing where the adoption of data science algorithms results in comparatively impressive click-through rates
• Data science facilitates the use of recommender systems which enable companies to identify how they can best meet the demands of their product users. Precisely, the recommender systems track users’ past internet search results and based on these results, the systems provide companies with recommendations on how product delivery can fit into users’ demands.

Besides the fact that data analytics is a high-paying job, holding a Master’s degree in Data Science could be your passport to a profitable professional career.

If you’re willing to pursue a postgraduate career in data analytics, it is very likely that you want to know some of the best universities offering Masters’s in Data Science and Analytics.

Nigeria is gradually on the move to becoming a major outsourcing hub for the local and international markets for data science with its growing number of new data scientists, a big name in the game is Data Science Nigeria, one of the pioneers of data science movement in Nigeria.

Data science is arguably the hottest career of the 21st century. In today’s high-tech world, everyone has pressing questions that must be answered by “big data”.

Big data is a technical term which refers to volumes of (structured and unstructured) data so large that conventional apps in use cannot process them. Essentially, big data is useful for the analysis of insights needed for smart decision making.

Broadly, big data is an aggregate of information assets, of high velocity, variety and volume, which require innovative and less expensive information-processing strategies. Ultimately, such strategies are expected to yield improved insight, process automation and decision making.

Businesses can apply big data for strategic decision making. However, a business could be overwhelmed with big data and while big data processing is important, the processing starts with scattered raw data that could be difficult for the storage of a single computer to hold.

What are the common use cases of big data?

• Big data is generously used in telecommunications where service providers need to effectively analyze an abundance of day-to-day customer/machine-generated data. This effective analysis of abundant data is very essential for service providers in the telecommunications business to achieve such goals as customer retention and subscriber base expansion.
• Big data is useful to institutional investment banks, insurance firms, retail banks, credit card companies and other service companies. Particularly, big data helps such service companies in solving the problem of abundant multi-structured data found in many different systems. To facilitate their varying analytical tasks, the stated companies use big data for customer analytics, operational analytics, fraud analytics and compliance analytics.
• The usefulness of big data in online retail business lies in the effective analysis of the multivariate data that online retail companies handle on a daily basis. Such data may include customer transaction data, loyalty program data, credit card data, weblogs, etc. Effective analysis of the stated data is a great recipe for understanding customers’ needs. Ultimately, such understanding can aid the delivery of services that can keep a retail company ahead of the competition.

This article clearly explains everything you need to know about building a successful career in data science; steps to take, skills needed, data science jobs in Nigeria, etc.

How to Build A Successful Career in Data Science

Below is a comprehensive guide on how to become a data scientist in Nigeria 2022:

• Earn a bachelor’s degree in IT, computer science, math, physics, or another related field.
• Learn data science basics.
• Build the skills.
• Obtain an entry-level job
• Become familiar with – Python, R, and SQL.
• Get data science certifications.
• Gain experience in the field you intend to work in.
• Learn from other experts in the field.
• Earn a master’s degree in data or related fields.
• Build a portfolio.

Future data scientists can begin preparations before they even step foot on a university campus or launch themselves into an online degree program.

Becoming proficient with the most widely used programming languages in data science such as Python, Java, and R  — and refreshing their knowledge in applied math and statistics — will help aspiring data scientists get a head start.

Common degrees that help you learn data science include:

• Computer science
• Statistics
• Physics
• Social science
• Mathematics
• Applied math
• Economics

Obtain an entry-level data science job (or Internship)

A lot of companies are often eager to fill entry-level data science jobs. Most entry-level data scientist roles in Nigeria require at least a bachelor’s degree.

On LinkedIn, you can search for positions such as Junior Data Analyst or Junior Data Scientist. On the job, you gain experience and get the opportunity to test your skills.

Skills needed to become a data scientist in Nigeria

Becoming an expert at data science and building a successful career as a data scientist won’t come through by going to school and reading alone. Some of the main languages needed in data science are Python, JavaScript, Scala, R, SQL, and Julia.

One of the most important technical data scientist skills is statistical analysis and computing, mining, and processing large data sets.

The following are the skills you need to become an expert data scientist:

• Programming Skills – Python, R, and SAS
• Analytical tools – SQL, Spark, and Hoop
• Machine learning
• Data visualization – Power BI and Tableau
• Adept at Working with Unstructured Data
• Deep Learning – Deep Reinforcement Learning, Natural Language Processing, and Computer Vision

Online data science certifications in Nigeria

Data science certifications are a great way to gain an edge. Whether you’re looking to gain experience as a new grad, demonstrate your knowledge of data analytics, land a new job role in Nigeria or a promotion, the following certifications will work for you.

• Certified Analytics Professional (CAP)
• Cloudera Certified Associate (CCA) Data Analyst
• Cloudera Certified Professional (CCP) Data Engineer
• Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Senior Data Scientist (SDS)
• Data Science Council of America (DASCA) Principle Data Scientist (PDS)
• Dell EMC Data Science Track (EMCDS)
• Google Professional Data Engineer Certification
• IBM Data Science Professional Certificate
• IBM Certified Data Architect – Big Data
• IBM Certified Data Engineer – Big Data
• Microsoft Certified: Azure AI Fundamentals
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Data Scientist Associate
• Microsoft Certified Solutions Expert (MCSE): Data Management and Analytics
• Open Certified Data Scientist (Open CDS)
• SAS Certified AI & Machine Learning Professional
• SAS Certified Big Data Professional
• SAS Certified Data Scientist
• Tensorflow Developer Certificate

Free Online data science certifications & courses in Nigeria

Below we have a list of free data science courses and certifications you can take online in Nigeria:

• Data Science Crash Course, John Hopkins University (Coursera)
• Introduction to Data Science (Revised) – Alison
• Data Science and Machine Learning Essentials – Microsoft (EdX)
• Data Science – Harvard
• Learn Data Science – Dataquest
• Introduction to Data Science Using Python – Rakesh Gopalakrishnan (Udemy)
• The Open Source Data Science Masters
• Analytics Vidhya
• Learnds.com
• Course Duck Machine Learning Course