United States, 26th September: There is a shortage of data scientists in the US.
Yes, that is quite true.
As per the official figures, nearly one in three data scientists are born outside the US.
“There is a shortage of data scientists in the US.”
Shortage of 100,000 data scientists in the US by 2020—Well, as per the research firm Gartner predictions(in 2012), there is going to be a shortage of 100,000 data scientists in the US by 2020. Yes, that is quite true.
This means that there is going to be a 60 percent higher demand than supply due to widening national gap between demand and supply of data scientists. Accenture, a consulting firm, stated that nearly 90 percent or more of its clients have plans to recruit data scientists. But, nearly 40 percent admit lack of talent as a big issue.
No wonder, data scientists may be considered to be the hottest job of 21st century. Several companies are desirous of hiring data scientists.
Data science jobs in the US will exceed 490,000 by 2018—By the year 2018, the demand for science will grow many times. Yes, by the year 2018, data science jobs in the US will exceed 490,000. And the number of available data scientists shall be just 200,000, the figures seem to suggest.
The demand for data scientists is likely to exceed supply by nearly 50 percent or even more by 2018 globally.
Reasons behind shortage of data scientists globally—Well, the reason behind growing demand and shortage of data scientists globally could be due to many reasons. This could be due to shortage of universities offering data science programs for preparation of scientists.
Just one-third of global universities offer degrees in data science. Just six out of 29 universities offer data science degrees/programs to undergraduates. So, there are only a handful of universities churning out sufficient data science graduates to fulfill the growing demand.