Description: GOOD with numbers? Fascinated by data? The sound you hear is opportunity knocking.
Source: nytimes.com
Date: Feb 11, 2012
Mo Zhou was snapped up by I.B.M. last summer, as a freshly minted Yale M.B.A., to join the technology company’s fast-growing ranks of data consultants. They help businesses make sense of an explosion of data — Web traffic and social network comments, as well as software and sensors that monitor shipments, suppliers and customers — to guide decisions, trim costs and lift sales. “I’ve always had a love of numbers,” says Ms. Zhou, whose job as a data analyst suits her skills.
To exploit the data flood, America will need many more like her. Read Rest of Story
Questions for discussion:
- What type of education should one pursue in order to well positioned to participate in this industry of Big Data?
2. Do you feel that all organizations are going to need this deep analytical ability or just business that are focused on this DATA industry?
MJJ
The types of education that should be pursued to be able to participate should be changing. Although the business, finance, economics and statistics are still necessary, some consideration must be given to psychology and sociology. The article noted that to date the analysis of the data has been done on a statistical basis. This has been enough up to this point. However, in order to remain competitive and ahead of the game, being able to determine what the data means beyond just the statistics will be necessary.
Being able to get a better and more accurate handle on the predictability of long term behaviours will allow business to further focus and target marketing. Potentially they will be better able to plan and prepare for upcoming demands. If they can determine what specific demographics are doing now, with the help of people of backgrounds in behaviour, the ability to predict, with confidence, what they will be doing and needing in the next month, year or decade. As scary as it is, that that much information and control have be relinquished through googling things on the internet, it is here and they way of the future. Like all technological advances, there will be initial resistance but eventually it will become the norm.