Need for Masters in Data Science and Analytics

Interesting thoughts on this take around the need for an advanced degree for data science. As someone who has worked in the field I tend to agree with finding a program that focuses more on business (or in my case healthcare) than a general computer science degree. https://fortune.com/education/business/articles/2022/01/21/what-bank-of-americas-chief-data-scientist-thinks-about-getting-a-masters-degree-in-the-field/

 

I don't think the article is saying anything new, but I appreciate that it retreads that important ground.

There are many paths to data science, but the requirement among all the paths is having the domain knowledge. You can't build a model without understanding what that model is supposed to do, and when it is working properly. Having domain knowledge allows you to define the question, which is key to being able to begin answering it. I read an interesting paper on the issues of problem formation in data science: https://arxiv.org/abs/1901.02547

I do think a Masters in CS is useful because if you decide to move out of DS it doesn't immediately flag you as a career changer. On the other hand you can do an MSCS and focus on data science courses.