In 2020 Data Scientist was not the #1 job in America. This is the first time it did not take top place since 2016, dropping to third. Front-end engineers and java developers now fill the first and second slots. Despite the drop, demand for data science jobs is high with no evidence of a slowdown.
If companies don’t adapt to modern technology and use data science tools their businesses will likely fail. Pair that with the low availability of workers in a field that is relatively new, and you have a prime employment arena. There are so few workers to fill positions, data scientist recruiters need extra time to find qualified candidates.
The low number of people to fill data science jobs has led to 61% of those hiring data scientists only requiring a bachelor’s degree. Only 39% are looking for master’s degrees or Ph.D.
Data engineer recruiters and data scientist recruiters see a high number of people leaving their positions. The question is, why?
The Appeal of Remote Data Science Jobs
The year of Covid-19 and remote work has led many professionals to explore options. One popular option is becoming part of a remote data science team. Companies hiring data scientists no longer need employees to move cross country to work in person.
Companies that have work-from-home (WFH) capability are expanding employment searches country-wide. This opens up employment to many who before may not have given those positions consideration.
WFH options have also opened up the market to areas not primarily the focus of data scientist recruiters in the past. This includes the new hotspots of Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, and Austin.
Data Scientist Recruiters Must Evaluate WFH Options
If data scientist recruiters and data engineer recruiters are resistant to hiring remote workers, they may be shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to hiring and retaining the brightest and best. Survey results show that 13.2% of data scientists are looking for a new position. Most people in the field spend 1-2 hours per week looking for a new job.
The 18 months have taught everyone in the data science field that this work can be done without having to set foot outside the home. Having a flexible schedule is the #1 benefit that keeps employees happy in their position. This is especially valuable to parents of small children with the pandemic variants continuing to cause school hours and daycare availability to waiver.
If you have employees heading out the door, you may want to evaluate your company policies on in-person vs remote work and become more flexible.
Evaluate Data Science Team Compensation and Promotion
When it comes to changing positions, salary is a key factor of consideration by data scientists and data engineers. To avoid losing your data science team because of a better offer, review your company policies on salary increases and retention strategies to decrease job rollover.
Consider how much satisfaction your team feels regarding growth opportunities on the job. If your workers feel their career is stagnated they are more likely to seek other opportunities. Make sure all professionals feel their career has advancement opportunities.
Data scientists, engineers, and analytic professionals want to work on the latest technology to keep their skills current. The more cutting-edge the company stays within the industry, the more likely you are to retain a happy, skilled data science team.
Get the Best Candidate for the Job
Here at Nexus IT Group, we are hyper-focused on niche IT skillsets to make sure we send you the best candidates for your position. Whatever type of candidate your data scientist recruiters are seeking, we can help. Contact us to discuss how we can assist you in all your data science hiring needs.