Data Science News and Insights
A discussion of data science and analytics as well as hiring in the field.

Jobs of the future, now hiring: AI job titles and what they do
Data engineers ensure raw data is accurately collected, securely and reliably stored, and structured for easy use by data scientists and analysts. And this is no small task. Data engineers are able to speak the language of data science and analytics so they can define project requirements. They must also be adept architects and coders comfortable working with the latest cloud technologies.

Meet the Data Engineer: He builds the systems that support data and analytics
Data engineers ensure raw data is accurately collected, securely and reliably stored, and structured for easy use by data scientists and analysts. And this is no small task. Data engineers are able to speak the language of data science and analytics so they can define project requirements. They must also be adept architects and coders comfortable working with the latest cloud technologies.

Meet the Data Scientist: She can predict your business success with data
Similar to data analysts, data scientists collect and analyze business data, but they take it a step further. Data scientists use advanced statistical models, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to predict the likelihood of future business outcomes.

Meet the Data Analyst: She will help you understand your business data
These days, taking care of business means dealing with lots and lots of data. Using that data should be more than storage and retrieval. You need to understand what your business data means for your growth and success. And to do this best, you need expert analysis—you need a data analyst on your team.

Everything you’re doing to recruit top data talent is wrong
Wondering what the heck is going on with hiring these days? Why are there so many data-focused job openings and so few applicants? Why are your best candidates ghosting you? We take a look at some things you’ll want to stop doing if you want to hire great data talent.

Data team roles and what they do for your business
If you’re trying to build out a great data team in your company, you’ve probably noticed that there are lots (and lots and lots) of data science roles out there. And so many of those data job titles sound confusingly similar— it can be hard to make sense of it all. In this post (1 of 4) we'll give you an overview of the major areas of data science roles and responsibilities.

2021 Trends in Data Hiring report and what it means for 2022
Last year we decided that, as a data-focused staffing and recruiting company, it only made sense to look at our own numbers for some insight on the data hiring market. After months of collecting data we are happy to share our first Annual Trends in Data Hiring Report for 2021.

Data Science Job Boards Roundup
Finding that perfect data job needle in the online job board haystack can be a challenge. While big, general purpose boards, such as Dice and Indeed, are great places to start, you can find more unique and specialized opportunities on job boards focused solely on data science careers. So to help you with your job search, we’ve compiled a list of the best data science job boards out there.

Data Hiring Trends – Q3 2021
While the demand for data professionals such as data scientists, data engineers, and data analysts continues to grow, the circumstances of hiring have shifted in some interesting ways. Here’s a look at the data hiring we saw in Q3 of 2021 along with insights from Dataspace CEO, Ben Taub

15 Data Science Job Description Tips: How to Write a Great Job Posting
Is the Great Resignation leaving you desperate to fill some vital data science roles in your organization? Before you send out the same old job posting as last time, learn how to optimize your data science job description to attract the right candidates.

20 Data Science Resume Tips: How to Write a Stand-out Resume
Job hunting this fall? It’s a great time to polish up your resume with these data science resume tips.
At Dataspace, our recruiters review hundreds of data science and engineering resumes every month...

Data Hiring Trends – Q2 2021
At Dataspace, we help our clients build strong data teams so they can do business better. After five years of focus on data talent recruiting and staffing, and more than 25 years in business intelligence, data science, and data engineering staffing and consulting, we’ve finally gotten around to crunching some of our own numbers and we are pleased to introduce our first ever quarterly Trends in Data Hiring report.

3 Remote Interview Scams Every Data Science Manager Should Be Aware of
Whether it’s the 30 second commute, unlimited snacks, or pants-optional lifestyle, remote work makes the daily grind more enjoyable in many ways. But it also introduces new challenges, especially in the area of recruiting.
As a data staffing…

Humans vs. Robots vs. Robots vs. Humans: Part 2 (Cybersecurity, AI, and Human Rights)
Our last month's edition of the Dataspace newsletter looked at the growing applications of AI for cybersecurity, and explored how some of the major players in tech are incorporating AI based security tools into the suite of products they offer…


Communications Hijacking!
What do you do in instances of communications hijacking? How can you ensure that you are actually communicating with the person you think you are communicating with?


I’m not asking you this Python interview question because I want to know. I’m asking because I want to know if YOU know!
I wasn't asking about Python data structures because I needed to know. I was asking because I needed to know if THE CANDIDATE knew!



Humans vs. Robots vs. Robots vs. Humans: AI for Cybersecurity
This month's Dataspace newsletter looks at the applications of AI for cybersecurity, and some potential limitations.


Fraud in the Time of Corona
We’ve had to be more flexible and understanding with resume anomalies this past year, but there are some things that still don’t fly.


AI Detectives – Using Data to Sleuth out the Truth
Image alteration is all around us nowadays. This post looks at a new generation of tools that "predict" if an image has been altered.


What Does Predictive Text Spell for Human Writing?
Beyond the tech specs of how these algorithms actually work, the growing capabilities of predictive text beg a multitude of questions regarding the potential implications for humans.


Golden Record at DetroitNewTech This Week!
Join us this Wednesday, January 6th for a virtual presentation about Golden Record at the January Meetup of Detroit New Tech!


All I Want for Christmas is… Analytics?
With such an abundance of Christmas movies out there, it is no surprise that there is also a substantial amount of data available about Christmas movies. And where there is data, there are data scientists playing with it.


Pollsters Should Take A Hint From the CIA
Will political polls ever work again? Are we doomed to this happening forever in the future? The situation points to a need to rethink the concept of polling vs the concept of forecasting.


Assimilate.. or Be Eliminated?
We've done a lot of pondering about the future of AI in the workplace, and there are a plethora of theories out there on what this future will look like.


Need plans for Turkey Day? Data Science Can Help!
The holidays will be a little different this year, and many of us will find ourselves with some extra free time, as we will not be traveling or spending the days off with friends and relatives. What better way to fill that extra leisure time than with some data!


Donuts Will Fix It!
Not only are they one of the most visually appealing food groups, but donuts are also more closely related to data than you might think!


Is AI Coming For Your Job?
Don’t worry. In a lot of areas AI is just not ready to make human workers redundant.


Predictions Abound About Election Predictions
While ads on TV, text, social media, and pretty much any other method you can think of are hard at work encouraging everyone to get out and vote, data science has been hard at work building models to try and use the plethora of data available to build models to understand voter behavior and predict the outcomes of this election.


What Do We Know About the Future of Data Staffing?
What do we know about the future of staffing? In short, not much. However there are hints that contract staffing could continue to grow as a critical strategic choice for many companies.


Surprised by AI: Volume II
Even robots are learning new skills these days! This issue of the Dataspace blog highlights some of the (maybe) surprising ways that AI is enriching our enrichment activities!


Resume Fraud: Are Grocery Stores Secretly Testing Your DNA?
Does a major grocery chain employ data scientists doing genetic testing? Or is this another case of resume fraud?


Will Covid Break Data Science?
Predictive analytics is about making educated guesses regarding the future based on things you know about the past. But, what if the future doesn't look anything like the past?


Not Enough College Football This Fall? Data Science Can Help
If you’re like me, these “unprecedented times” in the world of sports have opened up unprecedented hours of free time in your nights and weekends this fall. Data science can help!


ARE DATA SCIENCE BOOTCAMPS WORTH IT?
As it turns out, this question (and variations of it) is one of the most frequently asked questions about data science that users search for via Google - as well as on other community platforms such as Reddit or Quora.


SURPRISED BY AI!
Much like an actual cloud that can look like whatever you imagine it to be, this virtual cloud is amorphous in its own right, and ever changing.
Fortunately for those who want to leverage cloud computing to improve their data sharing, storage, and analytics capabilities it is less important to understand what "The Cloud" looks like than what it does. In this issue of our newsletter, we dive into some of the silver linings of cloud computing and its applications.


Resume Fraud: If you’re going to copy from another resume, make sure that one makes sense!
Not to be dramatic but... if you haven't done the work, DO NOT PUT IT ON YOUR RESUME!


Resume Fraud: Would This Company Use This Software?
For those who think there's a lot of fraud in resumes today...


Be Assured, Data Science Ensures Success for Insurance
GREETINGS FROM DATASPACE!
As we discussed in what may be our most viewed Dataspace blog post (ever!), insurance is one of the oldest data science based businesses - using math to make predictions about the future.
In today's post, we’ll…


Why you need cloud neutrality
As you move your infrastructure to the cloud, it's important to consider how to not become beholden to a single cloud vendor. In other words, to attain cloud neutrality. I'm afraid that I don't have all the answers on how to do this, but I do…


Danger, Will Robinson! (AI, Analytics and the Invisible Dangers)
While we may yet be a long way from the threat of truly sentient computers such as Hal 9000 and ARIIA, the current capability of AI technologies still offers plenty of power for those who wish to harness it for malicious purposes. These…


Technology, progress and ethics: a balancing act
Greetings from Dataspace!
The last edition of our newsletter focused on some very creative applications of data science tools and methods. Most of these were lighthearted, merely reflecting the interest of the creators in their subject matter…


Dataspace Newsletter: Your Chicken is Fried in Crude Oil – Data Science Proves It!
Greetings from Dataspace!
In this issue of the Dataspace Newsletter we're taking a break from the more classical and businessy (aka boring) applications for machine learning and data science. Instead, we invite you to open the door to explore…


More data, more problems (to solve)…
Greetings from Dataspace!
Another week, another newsletter! Before we get into any new news, a quick update on a piece of old news:
It looks like our new website was experiencing some problems of its own when we sent out our last newsletter…


Grab your tools…it’s time to update!
Greetings from Dataspace!
Here's hoping that this week's newsletter finds you well, and that those of you who observe enjoyed Happy Passover and Easter celebrations, even if the family was only able to come together virtually.
Much like…


Flattening the (other) curve: Data Science Learning Resources
Greetings from Dataspace!
First of all, we here at Dataspace hope that you and all of your loved ones are safe and well in this time of uncertainty, and that we'll all soon be back on our feet.
As the nation's workers struggle with unemployment…


Data science contractors – demand will increase in 2020
We’ve spent the past few years helping companies build their core data science functions by guiding them towards the best talent available in the market. For many companies keen on gaining an edge in predictive technology, the dominant talent…


Heathcare Data Scientist Salary – How Much Should I Pay?
Being that data science is a relatively new field, we often get questions regarding compensation for various data science-related skillsets across different locations and industries. The healthcare and medical industry, specifically, has been…





A Big Mistake Technical Recruiters Make
A note to technical recruiters: There’s a difference between a data scientist and a Python programmer who knows some data science frameworks
We’ve recently heard from a number of technical recruiters who’ve been burned. They were tasked…


Dataspace featured in article about hiring data scientists
Dataspace CEO, Ben Taub, was featured in a Dice post offering some clever suggestions for hiring data scientists and ensuring your data talent is excellent. We encourage you to take a peek and absorb some of the wisdom within!
https://i…


Change this one thing about your company to help you hire better data scientists
We begin many blog posts by highlighting the acute shortage of data scientists and the resultant difficulty in attracting them to your company. Chances are that if you are reading this, you are well aware of that fact and may have already…


Dataspace to sponsor 2019 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics & Operations Research
Dataspace is excited to announce that we will be sponsoring the 2019 INFORMS Conference on Business Analytics & Operations Research in Austin, Texas from April 14-16!
We encourage all local data science and business analytics professionals…



What’s The Difference Between Business Intelligence and Data Science?
Tools and techniques for management reporting and analysis have evolved since computers first came out. One can argue that the first management reporting tool was COBOL (COmmon Business Oriented Language). It allowed business people to get data…


Dataspace to sponsor 6th Annual Big Data & Business Analytics Summit at WSU
For the second year in a row, Dataspace is pleased to announce that we will be sponsoring the 6th Annual Big Data & Business Analytics Summit at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI from March 21st to 22nd, 2019!
If you are a local…



Making your company more appealing to data scientists
As many a frustrated recruiter or hiring manager can tell you - a good data scientist is hard to find, and even harder to hire. Quality candidates frequently end up with multiple final round interviews (often within days of each other) leading…


Resume fraud: Warning signs and how to protect yourself
If you have experience in the tech staffing business, you may have noticed a recent rise in the amount of fraud and dishonesty in the marketplace. This is perhaps inevitable given the high level of demand for data engineering and data science…




Step 1: Collect data. Step 3: Profit. Step 2: Hire data scientist?
Data science is, and has been, in vogue. Every forward-thinking company wants to have a data science program because by now it is conventionally understood that it will improve profitability and efficiency across the business.
To…





Should we be more open to sponsoring analytics talent?
Trends seen throughout the majority of 2017 persist in the current job market - low unemployment rates and rapid job growth across multiple sectors. These factors have combined to create a highly competitive hiring environment and a shortage…



In Defense of Relational Databases
As you may know, many big data technologies are defined as schema on read. What this means is that you can throw whatever you want on the disk and then, when you need the data, you tell the data store what that data means (e.g. the second column…


The Shifting Role of IT in Analytics
In the distant past (circa 2015), IT was responsible for providing data consumers with data, tools, and development expertise. Today, the landscape is shifting, especially in larger organizations. Nowadays, IT provides some of the data - the…


Dataspace to sponsor 5th Annual Big Data & Business Analytics Symposium at WSU
Dataspace is happy to announce that we will be sponsoring the 5th Annual Big Data & Business Analytics Symposium at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI from March 22nd to 23rd, 2018!
If you plan to attend, please stop by our…


What does it mean to hash data and do I really care?
Hashing is simply passing some data through a formula that produces a result, called a hash. That hash is usually a string of characters and the hashes generated by a formula are always the same length, regardless of how much data you feed into it.


Data Science and Predictive Analytics Explained in Two Sentences
In data science and predictive analytics we determine the likelihood of something by looking at data about it. We do this simply by looking for similarities between that data and data from past cases where we actually know the outcome.


Dataspace to sponsor Southeast SAS Users Group 2017
We are proud to announce that Dataspace is a corporate sponsor of the 25th Annual Southeast SAS Users Group (SESUG 2017) conference in Cary, NC from November 5th to 7th, 2017!
Kiran Venna, our featured conference speaker, will be presenting…


Kafka: What Is it?
Number One in Dataspace’s Data Science Series: What does it mean?
If nothing else, the data science industry is good at coming up with new, unique, confusing names and terms. ZooKeeper, MapReduce, Hadoop, Pig, Storm, Mahout MongoDB…the…


Artificial intelligence & insurance: how AI is changing the industry
Any serious conversation about the future of data and analytics invariably turns to the topic of artificial intelligence. The past year has seen AI surge in popularity, with high profile corporations and personalities getting behind what many…


Pitching Your 2018 Data Science Budget
Last week we offered some suggestions on how to attack your data management initiatives in 2018 according to your organization’s level of data expertise. This week we follow up with some tips on how to pitch those new data science technologies…


Planning Your 2018 Data Science Budget? Here Are Some Logical Projects
It’s that time of year again! With budgeting for 2018 at the forefront of your agenda, you may be wondering where to head with your data science efforts. Investments in big data are often expensive, but when planned correctly you can manage…


How Big Data Helps Detect Hacking
Cyberattacks have become increasingly damaging and visible in recent years, in part because of numerous, high-profile instances of hacking affecting everything from your personal files to global election outcomes.
And, in fact, hacking…


Biometrics and Big Data: Facial Recognition
A key feature of big data is its lack of structure - we’re talking about the stuff that doesn’t fit neatly into excel columns or that is easily described on first glance using numbers or other descriptors. This includes things such as…


The Difference Between an Actuary and a Data Scientist
The hot new thing, data science, isn’t so new after all. Since the advent of modern actuarial science in the late 1980s, insurance companies have relied on actuaries to use math and statistics to anticipate the future.


Do you need real-time business analytics? Start by asking yourself these 4 questions
If you have huge volumes of data, chances are that you can get value out of analyzing that data. But, would you derive significant value from analyzing it in real time? This is an important question because, while there are benefits to real…


So, what is the difference between a programmer and a data scientist?
There exists a chronic confusion as to what the distinction is between your average software engineer (i.e. programmer) and a data scientist. This is totally understandable, considering the fact that both jobs do involve programming and the term “data science” seems so much like the term “computer science”. However, the two differ in some significant ways.




The Sad Future of the Corporate IT Department
People in the tech world love to speculate on the future structure of the corporate IT department. While we cannot know precisely how this change will manifest, there are undeniable trends towards a more engaged and decentralized IT presence in organizations. This may very likely end in the elimination of the IT department as we know it.


Two Birds With One Stone: Learn Data Science and A Foreign Language at the Same Time!
We here at Dataspace thought it would be helpful to share some intriguing examples of how data can be easily manipulated to bring efficiency and value into our day-to-day lives. This week we will focus on how the daunting and time-consuming task of learning a foreign language can be made easier by taking a data-driven approach.


Is My Big Data Giving Me Big Value?
Companies often find themselves wondering whether or not they have big data and questioning whether they even need business intelligence and predictive analytics to improve their business strategy. The reality is that you probably have more data than you think you do, but that the systems are not in place to make it useful.


Driving value through end-user engagement
It is important to remain aware of the fact that making data work for you is as much about people as it is about technology. Dataspace has learned a lot about end-user engagement with predictive software and business intelligence infrastructures over the past two decades. After all, it is not the products but the user of these products, the guy or gal who makes the day-to-day decisions, which ultimately determines whether or not your organization uses data effectively.


Becoming a Data-Driven Company in 2017
By now, we all know that big data and predictive modeling are at the heart of any successful and competitive corporate strategy. But making data-driven decisions means more than just selecting software or implementing a BI system; it means…


Business Intelligence Training: What to Study Over Lunch in 2017
If you’re like me, you’re an exceedingly attractive, 50-something data geek with a love for aviation history who’s an amazing ice hockey player. You also spend a lot of lunches eating a sandwich while studying new technologies. This…


If You Get This BI Requirement, Run!
The Lamest BI Requirement – And it Won’t Go Away!
Want a sure path to failure in BI and data warehousing? Don’t solicit requirements from your users.
Want a second path? Settle for the requirement, “Just give me everything (JGME)…


A Big Thing I’ve Learned Assessing BI Systems
Assessing BI & DW Systems
A decent (and fun!) chunk of our business is assessing organizations’ business intelligence and data warehousing capabilities. In assessments we meet with business executives and IT staff to discuss…


Do You Really Have Data Management Principles?
Looking back on the work we’ve done over the past few years I’ve come across an interesting point: while companies may have mature data management organizations (DMOs), few of these DMOs have a set of principles behind their data management…


A Dumb Thing that 99 out of 100 Data Warehousers do
Is your terminology causing your BI / DW team to head in the wrong direction?
As a business intelligence and data warehousing consultant I constantly work with IT teams that, even internally, can’t agree on whether they have a data warehouse,…


Programming: Get it into School!
For those who’ve been wondering why schools don’t teach at least introductory programming, a large group of industry and government leaders have drafted and signed a petition asking congress to provide funding for this.
While I graduated…


When Business Moves Faster than BI
When Business Moves Faster than BI
Face the Facts – IT Does Interfere With Business Agility
It’s a rare organization where the business staff doesn’t complain that IT is holding them back. This is, in fact, one of the key…



Big Data: What to do if You Suspect You Have It
Do I Have Big Data?
If there is one question we hear from almost every Dataspace client, it is, “Do I have big data?” Many clients are torn about the prospect of big data. On the one hand, having big data represents a sort of badge…