Unicorns Among Us: Understanding the High Priests of Data Science

Data science comprises one of the fastest growing and most lucrative corners of the digital labor market. Data scientists - the so-called "high-priests" of big data - combine unique and esoteric skills. Jonathan Goldman says data scientists are sometimes referred to as "unicorns" simply because the combination of skills and talents required to do the job is so rare and hard to find. In UNICORNS AMONG US, Lars Nielsen profiles today's data scientists by looking at their backgrounds, training, skills, tools and responsibilities. This book will prove ideal reading for anyone contemplating a career in data science, or anyone charged with managing data science projects or data science teams.

CONTENTS: High Priests * Part Analyst, Part Inspired Artist * Data Wrangling * The Human Factor vs. The Machine Factor * The Dats Scientist's Shifting Role * A Cool Sub-Niche: Crowd Science * The Data Scientist's Most Important Tool: Hadoop * A Fantastic Kind of Abstraction: The Origins of Hadoop * A Platform is Born * Hadoop Grows Up * A Cautionary Summing Up