Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies

Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies

by Jason Williamson
Released January 2015
Publisher(s): For Dummies
ISBN: 9781118903407

Read it now on the O’Reilly learning platform with a 10-day free trial.

O’Reilly members get unlimited access to books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.

Start your free trial

Book description

Hone your analytic talents and become part of the next big thing

Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies is the ultimate guide to landing a position in one of the fastest-growing fields in the modern economy. Learn exactly what "big data" means, why it's so important across all industries, and how you can obtain one of the most sought-after skill sets of the decade. This book walks you through the process of identifying your ideal big data job, shaping the perfect resume, and nailing the interview, all in one easy-to-read guide.

Companies from all industries, including finance, technology, medicine, and defense, are harnessing massive amounts of data to reap a competitive advantage. The demand for big data professionals is growing every year, and experts forecast an estimated 1.9 million additional U.S. jobs in big data by 2015. Whether your niche is developing the technology, handling the data, or analyzing the results, turning your attention to a career in big data can lead to a more secure, more lucrative career path. Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies provides an overview of the big data career arc, and then shows you how to get your foot in the door with topics like:

  • The education you need to succeed

  • The range of big data career path options

  • An overview of major big data employers

  • A plan to develop your job-landing strategy

    • Your analytic inclinations may be your ticket to long-lasting success. In a highly competitive job market, developing your data skills can create a situation where you pick your employer rather than the other way around. If you're ready to get in on the ground floor of the next big thing, Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies will teach you everything you need to know to get started today.

    Table of contents

      1. Introduction
        1. About This Book
        2. Foolish Assumptions
        3. Icons Used in This Book
        4. Beyond the Book
        5. Where to Go from Here
      2. Part I: Getting a Job in Big Data
        1. Chapter 1: The Big Picture of Big Data Jobs
          1. How We Got Here and Where We’re Headed
            1. Why companies care about big data
            2. The future of big data jobs
          2. Exploring Big Data Career Paths
            1. Not everyone is a data scientist
            2. Requirements of big data professionals
          3. Looking at Organizations That Hire Big Data Professionals
            1. Public sector and academia
            2. Commercial organizations
            3. Corporate information technology
            4. Marketing departments and business units
            5. Big data firms
            6. Consulting companies
        2. Chapter 2: Seeing Yourself in a Big Data Job
          1. Planning Your Journey into a New Frontier
          2. Finding a Future Career in Big Data
            1. The growth of big data jobs
            2. Predictions for the next several years
          3. Sizing Up Your Skills
            1. Evaluating your aptitude for big data
            2. Doing a self-assessment plan
            3. Finding your gaps
          4. Charting Your Path
            1. When to fill the gaps with education
            2. Filling gaps with experience
            3. Planning your milestones and timeline
            4. Measuring your results
        3. Chapter 3: Key Big Data Concepts
          1. The Four V’s of Big Data
            1. Volume
            2. Variety
            3. Veracity
            4. Velocity
            5. Value
          2. Building a Big Data Platform
          3. Looking into Big Data Use Cases
            1. Big data in risk and compliance
            2. Big data in financial services
            3. Big data in healthcare
            4. Big data in government
            5. Big data in retail
      3. Part II: Getting Your Big Data Education
        1. Chapter 4: Roles in Big Data Revealed
          1. Big Data Jobs for Business Analysts
            1. Assessing your interest
            2. Looking at a job posting
          2. Big Data Jobs for Data Scientists
            1. Assessing your interest
            2. Looking at a job posting
          3. Big Data Jobs for Software Developers
            1. Assessing your interest
            2. Looking at sample job postings
        2. Chapter 5: Foundations of a Big Data Education
          1. What’s Your Major? Undergraduate Majors That Fill Big Data Jobs
            1. Math and statistics
            2. Computer science and engineering
            3. Business
          2. Continuing Education and Graduate School
            1. Programs in analytics
            2. PhD programs for big data
        3. Chapter 6: Making Your Own Way (For the Experienced Professional)
          1. Learning on Your Own Time
            1. Hitting the books
            2. Online tutorials
            3. Online communities
            4. On-the-job training
          2. Building Your Own Big Data Test Lab
            1. Step 1: Define your goals
            2. Step 2: Take a skills inventory
            3. Step 3: Mind the gap
            4. Step 4: Acquire knowledge
            5. Step 5: Look back
        4. Chapter 7: Knowing Your Big Data Tools
          1. Database Tools You Need to Know
            1. Relational databases and SQL
            2. NoSQL
          2. Big Data Framework Technologies
            1. The Hadoop framework
            2. Pig
            3. Hive
            4. Spark
          3. Analysis Tools You Should Know
            1. Business analytics or business intelligence tools
            2. Visualization tools
            3. Sentiment analysis tools
            4. Machine learning
          4. Keeping Current with Market Developments
      4. Part III: Finding a Job with the Right Organization
        1. Chapter 8: Life as a Consultant
          1. What Is a Consultant Anyway?
            1. Types of consultants
            2. Who’s who in the consulting industry
          2. The Career Path of a Consultant, from Associate to Partner
          3. A Typical Day in the Life of a Big Data Consultant
          4. Pros and Cons of the Consultant’s Life
        2. Chapter 9: Working as an In-House Big Data Specialist
          1. Working for Central IT to Serve an Organization
            1. Looking at roles in corporate IT
            2. Examining a corporate IT job posting
          2. Working for a Business Unit
          3. Pros and Cons to In-house Positions
            1. Pros
            2. Cons
        3. Chapter 10: Living on the Edge with a Startup
          1. Startups and Where They Are
            1. Phase 1: The seed stage
            2. Stage 2: The early stage
            3. Stage 3: The expansion stage
            4. Stage 4: The turnaround stage
            5. Stage 5: The purchase stage
          2. Startup Companies Born for Big Data
          3. Deciding If Working for a Startup Is the Life for You
        4. Chapter 11: Serving in the Public Sector or Academia
          1. The Role of Academia in Advancing Big Data
            1. Teaching at the college level
            2. Conducting research
          2. Nonprofit Industry Organizations
          3. Organizations within the Public Sector
            1. Civilian organizations
            2. Defense and intelligence
          4. Healthcare and Medical Research
      5. Part IV: Developing a Job-Landing Strategy
        1. Chapter 12: Building Your Network and Brand
          1. Real-World Networking to Win a Job
            1. Knowing where to look
            2. Being ready to make that connection
          2. Building Your Brand While Networking
            1. Step 1: Define your goals
            2. Step 2: List your current networks
            3. Step 3: Identify new groups to engage
            4. Step 4: Enhance your online profile
            5. Step 5: Prospect
        2. Chapter 13: Creating a Winning Résumé
          1. Understanding the Importance of a Résumé
          2. Navigating the Hiring Process
          3. Getting Past the Gatekeeper
            1. Using keywords
            2. Navigating job-posting tools
          4. Knowing the Do’s and Don’ts for Résumés
          5. Crafting the Right Résumé for the Position
          6. Reviewing Sample Résumé Sections
            1. Objective
            2. Technical skills
            3. Work experience
            4. Education
        3. Chapter 14: Preparing to Nail Your Interview
          1. Understanding Why Interviews Are Important
            1. Identifying what interviewers want to hear
            2. Knowing the types of interviews and tips for each
          2. Preparing for the Interview
            1. How to prepare and what to study
            2. Knowing what questions to ask the interviewers
          3. Telling Your Story
            1. Describing your professional journey
            2. Showing why you’re a good fit
          4. Unlocking Success in a Behavioral Interview
            1. Getting ready for probing questions
            2. Turning probing questions into opportunities
          5. Unlocking the Key Aspects to a Good Case Interview
            1. Structuring problems
            2. Exhibiting analytics and reasoning skills
            3. Showcasing business skills and industry awareness
            4. Displaying good presentation skills
          6. Showing Motivation and Excitement
            1. Displaying your initiative
            2. Making it easy to hire you
            3. Telling them you want this position
            4. Ending on a high note
      6. Part V: The Part of Tens
        1. Chapter 15: Ten Ways to Maximize Social Media in Your Job Hunt
          1. Google Yourself
          2. Get Rid of Unflattering Pictures
          3. Be Your Own Best Editor
          4. Get On Google+
          5. Use LinkedIn Like a Pro
          6. Start Blogging
          7. Become an Expert
          8. Focus on Facebook
          9. #UseTwitter
          10. Check Your Klout
        2. Chapter 16: Ten Interview Questions and Answers You Need to Know
          1. Can You Tell Me about Yourself?
          2. What Are Your Goals?
          3. Why Do You Want to Work Here?
          4. Why Should We Hire You?
          5. Why Do You Want to Leave Your Current Job?
          6. Can You Give Me an Example of a Time When You Had to Make a Decision with Limited Information?
          7. How Do Others View You?
          8. Can You Tell Me about a Time When You Made a Mistake?
          9. Can You Tell Me about Some of Your Accomplishments?
          10. Have You Ever Disagreed with Your Boss? If So, How Did You Handle It?
        3. Chapter 17: Ten Free Data Science Tools and Applications
          1. Making Custom Web-Based Data Visualizations with Free R Packages
            1. Getting Shiny by RStudio
            2. Charting with rCharts
            3. Mapping with rMaps
          2. Checking Out More Scraping, Collecting, and Handling Tools
            1. Scraping data with Import.io
            2. Collecting images with ImageQuilts
            3. Wrangling data with DataWrangler
          3. Checking Out More Data Exploration Tools
            1. Talking about Tableau Public
            2. Getting up to speed in Gephi
            3. Machine learning with the WEKA suite
          4. Checking Out More Web-Based Visualization Tools
            1. Getting a little Weave up your sleeve
            2. Checking out Knoema’s data visualization offerings
      7. Part VI: Appendixes
        1. Appendix A: Resources
          1. Vendor Websites
          2. Standards Organizations
          3. Open-Source Projects
          4. Big Data Conferences and Trade Shows
          5. Leading Analysts Research Group
        2. Appendix B: Glossary
      8. About the Author
      9. Cheat Sheet
      10. More Dummies Products

    Product information

    • Title: Getting a Big Data Job For Dummies
    • Author(s): Jason Williamson
    • Release date: January 2015
    • Publisher(s): For Dummies
    • ISBN: 9781118903407