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Mentorship: The way forward for Data Scientists

By Vahid Haghzare, Director Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment &
Armie Garcia, Marketing Associate, Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment

One of the top IT Recruitment Agencies in Hong Kong, Dubai, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Singapore, and Japan, SVA Recruitment is an IT and employment agency that provides jobs, executive search, and recruitment services.

Everyone knows that the data science field is growing exponentially. Looking back on 2021, Silicon Valley Associates Recruitment can confidently say this has been our most in-demand role to work on this year in Hong Kong.

In preparation for 2022, SVA Recruitment’s IT Recruiters conducted a survey among our Data Scientist community in multiple regions. Some of the answers shocked us.

Data Scientists are Struggling

Among the 2,000 respondents, more than 50% revealed that their daily work, tasks, and projects needed them to frequently confer with a friend or coworker, do more research, or learn new skills in order to finish the job at hand.

And almost 80% stated that their way of getting out of a jam is looking into external resources like Q&A sites.

Only 36% of the data scientist employees reported that their company’s leaders are knowledgeable on data and have a broad understanding of visuals and models.

Some other obstacles are present as well besides the technical ones. A quarter of Data Scientists responded that “business knowledge” is what they as data practitioners lacked from their company and felt challenged to participate in some of the business decisions made by the company, even when actively invited to by the organization.

You may also read: What trends to look forward to in 2022 as a Data Scientist

Demand for Mentorship

Data practitioners are seeking more advice given these challenges.

From the survey, an overwhelming majority of 70% responded that they are thinking of seeking mentorship; for different reasons including their personal technical development, helping them plan their career paths, figuring out technical problems, or having better communication with their leaders.

SVA Recruitment agrees. A good mentor and the full-length support of the tech industry are critical to accelerating in Data Science, as Talent in this field face recurring challenges on the skills they have and their desire to thrive despite the emerging expectations and transitory innovation.

Look for a mentor who has the professional and academic experience, they should be able to provide you with more knowledge in the field to grow your system.

The Growth of Gen Z

The need for mentorship increases every year due to the booming number of Gen Z in the workforce. In comparison with our survey last year’s, there has been a 15% increase of Gen Z respondents.

Data scientists’ jobs are commonly is-conceptualized; with the younger generation thinking that they are just always on their computer encoding numbers.

Some are surprised to find out after starting the job that they also need to spend time presenting and explaining models and working closely with teams which mentorship may be needed to improve, mostly for those who are new in the field.

You may also read: How to Start-Off your Career in Data Science now

An Opportunity for Senior IT Professionals

A conflict between demand and supply seems to appear even though the desire for mentorship is there. Respondents saying that they weren’t sure where to find a good mentor is more than half, while 40% percent of them said they are willing to be a mentor or adviser.

This is a key area where the field needs to improve. The future development of this emerging industry will be hindered if the professional development gaps don’t get addressed soon.

For the more experienced Data Scientists, this is their chance to step up and offer guidance to their younger peers. Being a mentor can boost their resume and career, even when they are not naturally good or experienced at it when starting, and is an excellent opportunity to enhance leadership skills.

Mentorship doesn’t have to be limited to Old Hand Data Scientists. The emerging field and subsequent demand in Data Science provide opportunities for experienced professionals across the IT world to step in and offer their wisdom.

The community can help advance Data Science as a whole

With or without mentorship, communities’ groups and divisions still play their role.

• Programming forums
• Professional associations
• Virtual or Personal Meet-ups
• Networking groups

Popular forums on Reddit and Github can help them to prepare in tackling complicated but important problems.

An official governing body would be a means for individuals to connect and tackle the best practices and the significance of a community for the field.

Last but not the least, companies are encouraged to support their staff and communities by providing or sending their data science teams to conferences or workshops, sponsoring the working groups, covering the costs of training, and offering opportunities to help them improve leadership skills and build mentor/advisee relationships.

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Silicon Valley Associates is ideally positioned to support the continual demand from tech companies and IT Departments looking to hire in Hong Kong, Asia, and Worldwide. Please let us know if you would further advise on the above topic or your hiring needs