Hottest job of the 21st century? Data science, reports Yahoo Finance

“You should go into politics!” snapped my girlfriend, just as I had outwitted her again in the age-old argument of where to go for dinner. “You have exhausted every possible category of reasoning for why we should go there again. I don’t need to know that the drive takes less time! Or that it’s cheaper. Or that it’s less crowded. Sometimes I just want to go somewhere on a whim!”

Maybe a variable like “whimsicality” makes the age-old dinner question a tricky one to answer for a data scientist, but when businesses are overwhelmed by an apparently endless sea of data and have to make a decision- which customers to target, what market to enter, how much advertising is too much- a well planned approach to processing it all becomes a necessity. Buyers are becoming more informed. The world economy has become far more complex in the Internet age. Buyers have become more informed and also far more selective. Customer targeting and intelligent marketing are becoming cornerstones of a successful business. However, with the rapid growth in need for these types of services, manpower comes at a premium. The skillset and rarity has led one CEO to call data scientists “unicorns”. While we do believe we possess rare magical powers on par with the fabled unicorn, data consulting firms allow companies to reach out and implore these rare resources without having to go on a unicorn hunt.

After all, who wouldn’t want to work with a unicorn?
Source: http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/sexiest-job-21st-century-122238562.html

Back from crunching numbers

Hi folks, we have been busy crunching numbers for the last few months and haven't had time to update our blog. But, moving forward we are making this a priority. So be sure to check back for some great upcoming posts. We are kicking it off with a series on Quality Assurance processes in data analysis.

Use and Misuse of Data Analysis

Happy New Year! Hope everyone had a great holiday season and is getting started with the new year.

As an intern with Mazliah Analytics, I have also been taking classes at Georgia Tech. The most interesting class that I took last semester was "The Use and Misuse of Data Analysis" where we looked at quite a few scenarios of how one set of data can tell a million different stories depending on how it is used - or misused. In recent years, numerous scandals have occurred where corporate executives have misused data to mislead either investors or regulatory agencies. The most apparent is the mark to market accounting system that lead to the demise of Enron.

As data scientists, we have a responsibility similar to any other type of scientists. We have to be responsible stewards of data who methodically approach a set of data and follow strict guiding principles.

This weeks interesting article is a blog post from Forbes titled Missing Data: The Elephant Not In The Room Let us know your thoughts! 

Machine Learning Center Coming Soon!

We are really excited about the upcoming launch of our Machine Learning Center which will include a tool to see machine learning in action along with a knowledge base of various resources about the subject. We are currently developing this resource and will keep you posted!

In related news, take a look at the latest application of machine learning to develop the "equation to the most popular song".

Welcome to our blog!

Stay tuned for more! We will be sharing interesting developments in the fields of business intelligence systems and machine learning.