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Past research and studies have shown data scientists to be one of the trending careers in the technology industry. However, as technology such as machine learning and artificial intelligence entered the job market, the next career opportunities projected toward machine learning engineers (MLE).
According to LinkedIn, machine learning engineers and data scientists have been positioned as the topmost emerging jobs in the tech industry.
Machine learning engineer vs data scientists
The number game
Based on a 2018 LinkedIn study, there are about 1,829 machine learning jobs available on the website. Becoming a machine learning engineer had been a dream career for most engineering students in the year 2018.
In present times, it is noted that there are 9.8 times more machine learning engineers than it was five years ago, likewise, 6.5 times more data scientists as compared to five years back.
In another study conducted by Analytics Magazine, an estimation of more than 78,000 jobs were seen available in data science and machine learning, the data collected is of India. Thus, the number of jobs in these professions is increasing at a rapid pace but with lax supply.
Based on the statistics, it can be concluded stating the number of job opportunities for data scientists and ML engineers will keep expanding. After all, they’re the most sought after career options in the analytics community.
Additionally, grabbing a job in the machine learning field is much more challenging as compared to data science.
Job responsibilities
Machine learning engineers are programmers working between the intersection of data science and software engineering. They hold responsibility in leveraging big data tools and programming frameworks ensuring that the data collected have been redefined and ready to scale by the data scientists.
Data scientist
The job role of a data scientist is to gather data, process the data, and come up with actionable insights from it. Organizations are hiring a data scientist to help them explore business aspects, understand their clients and customers’ needs to make positive business decisions.
Salary prospects
AI/ML engineer
An average ML engineer earns more than a data scientist. In the US, machine learning engineers earn around USD 125,000 per annum whereas in India it is around ₹875,000 per annum, according to Payscale.
Data scientist
An average data scientist makes around USD 110,000 per annum in the US and around ₹625,000 per annum in India, statistics based on Naukri.
Job skills
AI/ML engineer
To become an expert in machine learning, these are the skills the candidate needs to master:
- Mathematics and statistics
- Data modeling and data evaluation
- Natural language processing (NLP)
- Machine learning algorithms
- Deep neural networks
- Problem-solving skills
- Software engineering
- System design
Data scientist
As a data scientist, following are the set of skills you need to acquire:
- Programming languages – R and Python
- Mathematics and statistics
- Predictive analysis
- Data visualization using tools such as Tableau, ggplot, Power BI
- Data analysis – Excel
- Machine learning algorithms
Experts advice
According to experts, both these professions are relatively new, thus, there may be slight fluidity on defining which job roles will be the most in-demand. However, the job of a machine learning engineer is to write production-level code whereas as a data scientist, the professional is responsible for providing business solutions based on the data retrieved.
Whether you decide on becoming a data scientist or a machine learning engineer, both these job roles offer cutting-edge technology most industries are looking to hire for. Moreover, talent outpaces the supply, thus competition for both these job roles will be tough.
As a result, it depends on which job roles your interest lies upon. Ensure you choose the right career pathway before taking a career leap.
