Director of Algebra LAB on the Most In-Demand Profession: We Have Fewer Than One Hundred in Croatia

For several years now, data scientist has been regarded as 'the sexiest' profession; in fact, Harvard Business Review declared it the profession with the highest potential in this century, a claim supported by the recently published map of jobs and skills of the future featuring the ten most sought-after professions across ten different industries. The IT industry, where it all began, has already moved on, with machine learning and artificial intelligence experts at the top of the most sought-after list in that sector. However, now further provoked by accelerated digitalization, it seems that everyone else has discovered how data scientists and analysts can be of service. According to the map created by A1 in collaboration with 27 scientists, professors, managers, experts from various industries, and founders of technology companies, this profession is number one across a range of industries such as healthcare, energy, automotive, agriculture, financial services, and retail. All of them want someone in their ranks who understands data, which is collected in enormous quantities under modern circumstances, so they can monetize it or use it to make strategic decisions about business development and everyday moves that mean profit. How data scientists are formed, who could replace them on the list of the most sought-after, and what the market needs for this profession in Croatia are revealed in an interview with Leo Mršić, director of Algebra LAB and head of the Data Analysis Department at Algebra University.

What Does Education for a Data Scientist Look Like? Where Can They Be Educated?

– Today, a large number of educational contents focused on data science are offered. The essential differences among them are in scope (focusing on specific contents such as data preparation or machine learning), duration (from shorter programs that end with a certificate of completion to accredited programs that end with a formal qualification and diploma), and the opportunities for participants to experience and engage in real projects during education to recognize and apply the knowledge learned in an environment that clients seek.

As a consequence of the rapid development of technologies and tools accompanying data science, clients/companies have found it difficult to recognize the values that this field can bring, so projects often fall into the so-called over-pricing/over-promising trap, a colloquial English term for ‘too expensive’ or ‘promised a lot, but received little.’ This has also reflected on education. Previously, this role implied a PhD and was perceived as highly technical. However, in reality, the term data scientist is a very horizontal role that ranges from managerial skills (being able to recognize opportunities for one’s own company), business IT skills (being able to assess the cost/benefit of implementing technology) to skills from the technical field (establishing infrastructure and preparing data) and natural sciences (modeling and training data). Given the large number of different skills, data scientists are often recognized in roles such as data engineer, visualization specialist, data monetization expert, data modeler, and similar.

Education can take place at various institutions; however, the highest quality knowledge is gained through project work. At the intersection of theory and practice, those projects and experts capable of creating value are recognized from those who are not. At Algebra University, we started dealing with analytical solutions more than 15 years ago. During that period, we led and participated in over 50 predominantly organic projects (projects where a solution is created rather than implementing a vertical vendor solution) and have won several important awards for projects and publications in this field. Today, we are enrolling the fifth generation of students in the first accredited master’s program for educating data scientists and preparing a large number of new opportunities for our students next year through collaboration with a number of internationally recognized institutions.

Are There Professional Development Programs in Croatia or Are They Organized by Companies?

– There are various professional development programs, from individual courses to various combined educations in companies or specialized institutions to accredited programs; however, few adequately balance theoretical and practical knowledge. Such an approach requires extensive mentor experience and a deep understanding of the rhythm in which knowledge can be accepted. Through such a process, the best role for each candidate is defined, and they are taught to work in teams very early on. Due to high demand, companies are trying to accelerate access to talent through their own initiatives, but this approach is often based solely on the skills and technologies used in that company, which limits candidates from getting to know all technologies and deciding for themselves which is more suitable. This is especially important in today’s time of rapid development in this field and the growing availability of various tools.

What Are the Market Needs for This Profession, and How Many Are ‘Produced’ Annually?

– Careful observation of trends shows that the market today is saturated with wannabe experts who have taken advantage of the high demand but are actually unable to create value through more complex projects. However, there is certainly room in the market for experts who do their job well. Due to the horizontality of this field and the fog created by various educations that have ‘data science’ in their name, it is not easy to say how many experts are produced annually, but we can say that today in Croatia there are fewer than one hundred experienced experts, while the broader community records several hundred members. The market needs are far greater, especially because the Croatian talent market is recognized far beyond the borders of our country, and many foreign companies come here in search of workers. Unfortunately, the technological wave of recent years has not been supported by domestic companies for various reasons, which has also reflected on experts who sought their path outside the country. The accelerated development of technology and the consequences of the pandemic have brought many experts back to Croatia, and it will be interesting to observe how sectors that can profit from employing these experts will react and how new generations being educated will cope with the challenges of creating business value.

Is the Claim That the Title Data Scientist Will Not Exist by 2029 True?

– That claim is not true. It is more accurate to say that this role has existed for many years, since around 2005. Consider, for example, the job of an installation expert in telecommunications. About ten years ago, their tool was a drill, and their role was to lay cables in your home so you could communicate with the outside world via phone or fax. Today, that same role connects your refrigerator, oven, and coffee machine to the home network and teaches you how to ensure safety in the digital world while seamlessly managing devices from a remote location.

A data scientist is a person who respects the complexity of working with data, knows how to work in a team with experts from various fields, releasing synergy through collaboration. Data scientists do not know shortcuts, cannot speed up the process, and must care about managing client expectations. Those who do not do this can easily be recognized in the market. On the other hand, those who are successful in this create a significant advantage for the companies they work for. The time ahead will allow small teams, focused on creating smaller but complete solutions or components, to hold a significant position in the market because large companies find it difficult and slow to innovate, struggle to retain highly capable individuals, and find it easier to work with external teams. There are many examples where this is already visible today, and from recent trends, it will be interesting to follow the new energy market law and the opportunities that the liberalization of smart services based on data will bring. We are expecting a very interesting period.

What Professions Could Replace Data Scientists from the Top Spot in Various Industries in the Coming Years?

– The job of data scientists is to unlock or create value from data. They represent ‘translators’ between business and technology and modify business models to adapt them to the market, the client, and through managing expectations allow for less guessing about what clients want and greater efficiency. This is lacking in many industries. For example, it is often said that ‘half of the investment in marketing is actually wasted money; you just never know which half.’ Or ‘medications do not help all patients, but you do not know that until they are tried.’ It is the task of data scientists to discover which half of the marketing investment is ‘wasted money’ and which medication will yield the best results for a certain diagnosis.

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