What's the difference between data analysis and data science? Posted on : Nov 23 - 2021

You’re a fresh graduate and you’re thinking of starting your career in a data-related role, but on the LinkedIn Jobs portal, you come across so many different job descriptions for data analyst, data scientist, business analyst, data engineer, machine learning engineer, the list goes on and on. You wonder which of these roles might be more appropriate for you, or if there is even any meaningful difference between these different roles?

This article might just be the thing that can help clarify some of the key differences in these roles, and we will be focusing on the differences between a Data Analyst and a Data Scientist. A disclaimer, however, what's covered in this article might not be entirely relevant to every role out there that is called Data Analyst or Data Scientist, nor is it an exhaustive list of responsibilities you might face. The truth is that these roles will differ between different companies and industries, and ultimately the best way of finding a good job fit is to spend time reading through the entire job description.

Data Analyst
Responsibilities

As a data analyst, you will be heavily involved in using data to answer a variety of different business questions provided by various stakeholders in the company. To derive these answers, you will often find yourself engaged in several other tasks as part of the process. For instance, many data analysts are involved in the acquisition of data from primary and secondary sources, as well as the data cleaning that follows from less structured datasets. In some instances, you will also be expected to work together with stakeholders to identify informational needs, which will then require you to design and maintain data systems and databases. A data analyst can be expected to be heavily involved in A/B testing too. At times, data analysts must be creative in answering business problems that lack direct forms of data. This can involve going through different sets of data and merging them in ways that generate meaningful insights about consumers. View More