Big Data Career Opportunities

With the inception of Big Data, we have witnessed a data revolution around us.  Big data career opportunities in Big Data Analytics is one of the biggest trends in IT sector at the moment and the buzz around it is not going to subdue anytime soon. Big Data is everywhere now-a-days, and if the industry forecasts are to be believed, then Big Data Analytics market will continue to grow bigger as businesses realize the importance of making data-driven decisions.

Wondering whether to take up a career in Big Data Analytics or not? If you are not convinced yet, then here are 6 reasons why making the switch to Big Data Analytics is a smart career move in 2017.

1. Exponential Growth Rate

Big Data sector has recorded six times faster growth than the average growth rate of IT industry in the past couple of years. According to the market experts, Big Data sector would sustain the momentum and continue to outpace other IT sectors by a significant margin in the years to come. Currently the size of Big Data Analytics market is around one-tenth of the global IT market, but it is expected to evolve to at least one-third by the end of 2020. So if you are looking to make a career in one of the fastest growing IT sectors, there is no better alternative than Big Data Analytics.

2. Soaring Demand for Qualified Professionals

Big Data initiatives were once reserved only for the giants like Microsoft and Amazon. That’s not the case anymore. Today, organizations of all sizes are venturing out to leverage the power of Big Data. As more and more IT companies are getting involved in Big Data projects, currently there is a big demand for engineers who can help process data at large-scale.

A closer look at the prominent job sites can give you a sense of the huge demand. There has been a steady increase in the number of job opportunities related to Big Data Analytics and the trend is still swinging upwards. It’s no wonder that qualified Big Data professionals are becoming the hottest targets of IT recruiters from all around the globe.

3. Lack of Skilled Professionals

Data is useless without the skill to process and analyze it. Being a relatively young field, the Big Data sector is currently witnessing severe shortage of technical expertise. While the demand is going up steadily, there is a huge deficit on the supply side. Lots of vacant positions have remained unfilled due to the scarcity of skilled professionals. In an industry where opportunities are plenty but skills are scarce, finding a suitable job shouldn’t be too difficult for the candidates having the right qualification.

4. Fat Paychecks

Thanks to the inadequate supply of Big Data skills, companies are willing to shell out lucrative salaries to attract professionals with the right kind of technical expertise. A quick look at the current salary trend for Big Data professionals indicates an exponential growth. According to a recent survey conducted by US-based recruitment agency Burtch Works, Big Data professionals tend to be the highest compensated group of IT employees with an average salary of $115,000 – which is around 30% more than that of other IT professionals with the same experience level.

5. Adaptation Across Different Industry Verticals

The astonishing growth of Big Data is largely attributed to its relevance across different industry verticals. All types of businesses can use the insights derived from Big Data to get an edge over their competitors. Besides the technology sector, Big Data is increasingly being utilized by other industry verticals for business intelligence, predictive analytics and data mining tasks.

Healthcare, consumer appliances, energy sector, manufacturing industry, and banking are a few of the verticals where Big Data has made its presence felt. As a result, the rate of Big Data implementation has increased by leaps and bounds. So the professionals with Big Data expertise can choose which industry to work for, based on their own preferences.

6. Wide Range of Roles and Responsibilities

Last, but not the least, Big Data professionals have a wide variety of positions to choose from. From Data Engineer to Business Analyst, Visualization Specialist to Machine Learning Expert, and Analytics Consultant to Solution Architect – there are so many options available for the aspiring professionals to align their career paths according to their interests and preferences.

Conclusion: Big Data Analytics help organizations derive meaningful insights from raw data to make the right business decisions at the right time. In today’s competitive job market, technology professionals with the right kind of skill-set are finding themselves in high demand as businesses look to harness the power of Big Data. With the increase in demand, shortage of talent, bigger paychecks, multiple job titles and relevance to different industry verticals, Big Data Analytics is certainly a smart career choice in 2017.

By Jack Danielson