There has been a massive boom of data in the last decade. Everything from small handheld devices, including smartphones to quantum computers, we are on our way to rediscover lives that we will be fuelled by data and the information generated by it. And to convert this data into that critical piece of information, we need a lot of hard work, analysis, and passion. 

A few jobs in this field include data scientists, decision scientists, analysts, researchers, and growth marketing researchers. Although there are many terms such as data scientists, which sounds a little familiar but are incredibly different, it creates a lot of confusion. Many of them you might not have even heard about the job of decision scientist. The difference lies in the way they approach a problem. 

Decision scientists think of data as a tool to make decisions to best suit the business requirements posed by the industry and the stakeholders. A Data Scientist always tries to find insights and relationships in data via statistics. 

Decision Scientists also work on the same principle. They look for insights into data and make decisions at-hand. For example, what particular segment of the society to focus on, the age group to focus on, optimal and efficient way to use the yearly budget, and analyze how the previous decisions impacted the business.

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Here are useful points to help you learn and explore more about this job profile

1. Definition: This is an application of complex quantitative techniques to learn and explore data to facilitate the best decision-making process.

2. Purpose of this Domain: This enables us with data-driven insights into real-world problems and challenges a company faces. It also helps in the application of the elements of cognitive sciences for planning and policy development.

Data: Also termed as the next gold, the data, if generated in adequate quantities by professionals, can be a game-changer for any company. This can save them from losses by identifying meager revenue-generating areas and can reap enormous profits by concentrating more on the massive revenue and profit-generating areas. 

3. Field of applications: The applications for decision science is endless. 

4. Business and Management: This is an essential trait and can be very helpful for any company. The ability to make decisions on real-time data can revolutionize the industry because data never lies.

5. Environment Regulation: The ability to monitor real-time movement of flora and fauna, especially the endangered ones and then sharing that information in the best visual presentation can impact the masses and help us achieve the goal of biological harmony.

6. Law and Education: Education can be impacted by on-time reports of students’ achievements and failures, helping us choose the areas to focus and explore. This leads to the overall development of a student. 

7. Environment Regulation: As we face a devastating time with billions of people affected financially, physically, and mentally strict measures are imminent. But these kinds of scenarios can be avoided by stringent environment regulations and real-time data monitoring, contact tracing, and other practices fueled by the correct usage of data.

Read more: Top 6 Reasons Why You Should Become a Data Scientist

The Future Trend for Data Scientists

The future is data-driven because every company is working hard to explore that sea of information. As we all know, automation is coming. With automation comes new services, better data collection, better client processing, and better customer handling. Hence, the demand will continue to increase day by day, and as more Indian and International companies expand, the craze for new data will increase. 

New age machine learning and Artificial Intelligence solutions require thousands of GB data and might grow to millions and billions in the coming years. We are experiencing a quantum leap in computing performance, which has resulted in an exponential increase in data consumption and generation. The jobs in these sectors are stated to increase as well. Every industry is looking to integrate their old systems with a new generation of tech and hence would be looking for experienced professionals. 

Role of Decision Scientists in India

The role of decision scientists is to focus on values mainly, and what the customer wants in the future and makes the best decisions for the same. 

For example, let us suppose there is a new trend in the market to develop new apps and manage front-end and back-end websites using typescript instead of javascript. These data scientists can access the data generated by other institutions on the impact of their transition of javascript to typescript.

Based on that report and analysis, they can ask the company to reskill or upskill everyone working on these technologies to reconsider their approach. Data scientists worldwide perform some significant work for any organization, including data insights, creating analytics, and much more. Still, to help the organization consume analytics, they need decision scientists.

Business Impacts of Decision Scientists

Problem

The business problem is the ultimate thing the decision scientists work on. The only way to tackle this problem is to develop a 360-degree view of the business, analyze the data along with the situation of the industry, try to learn, and discover new visualization methods to convey the result and decisions more effectively.

Expectations

As a decision scientist, you would be expected to work on various data sources and inputs selected. 

Decisions

These decisions play an innovative role in the industry and can shape the future of some organizations. This includes moving forward with a solution to company problems that can increase revenue, generate future growth possibilities, and raise awareness about the brand. At the same time, these solutions should be able to find avenues for future growth. 

The decision scientist views data as a business problem and tries to solve it. They are well nurtured and valued in any organization because of their understanding of the business. They make decisions that impact the company’s ecosystem and are well aware of the institution’s vision and mission. 

Checkout: Business Analysis Vs Business Intelligence: Differences Between BA & BI

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Decision Scientist Salary and Skills in India  

Salary of a decision scientist in India

This job can your career propel in the right direction with a hefty paycheck. The average decision scientists’ salary in India differs from 8 lakhs to 13 lakhs for about 85% of jobs in this sector. 

The rest 15% lies in the range of 15 to 40 lakhs depending on your skills and expertise in the industry. 

The age bracket includes 21-26 years old, making up 65% of the total workforce in this domain and 25% in the 26 to 31 years age bracket and the rest 10% above 36 years of age. 

According to Glassdoor, the average salary for decision scientists in India is about Rs. 7,35,464 in Bangalore. One of India’s biggest firms, Flipkart, offers about 22 Lakh for this role.

Read our popular Data Science Articles

Essential skills for the current market

The essential skills for the best decision scientist salary in India include-

• SAS with about 63% penetration in the market, 
• Business analytics with about 50% workforce effectively skilled in this domain, 
• 50% in SQL, about 38% in R programming language, 
• 25% in Analytics, Data Analysis, and Statistical Modelling. 

These skills can help you explore new dimensions in this domain and help you land an excellent job in various multinational corporations around the globe.

Checkout: Data Scientist Salary in India

Top Data Science Skills to Learn

A Platform for Developing These Skills

To develop these skills, you need to get industry-specific knowledge and guidance. The companies of the future will solemnly depend on data to exist. Data is the new virtual gold. To get an opportunity to work with firms of the future and prepare you, upGrad offers programs on these cutting-edge technologies with many of our students working in Microsoft, Google, Visa, and Amazon and many other Fortune 500 companies. You can discover your real talent and unlock your true potential with beautifully crafted courses with real-time industry inputs and placement support. 

These include the PG diploma course in Data Science, Machine Learning and AI, Machine Learning and Deep Learning, Machine Learning, and NLP offered by the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Bangalore, and industry input from Flipkart. Make your future secure with us, and don’t let challenges haunt your dreams.

If you are curious to learn about data science, check out IIIT-B & upGrad’s Executive PG Program in Data Science which is created for working professionals and offers 10+ case studies & projects, practical hands-on workshops, mentorship with industry experts, 1-on-1 with industry mentors, 400+ hours of learning and job assistance with top firms.