Is the role of a data scientist still a good choice for starting a tech-focused startup?

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1

Hi all,

I’ve been looking into career options in AI/ML and I’m curious if the role of a data scientist has become too broad. Many job descriptions I’ve seen for data scientists focus more on analytics and less on actual machine learning or AI tasks.

For someone like me, who wants to dive deep into AI, learn as much as I can, and eventually start a tech company, would it still make sense to pursue a career as a data scientist? Or has the role shifted so much that going down the path of an ML engineer would be a better fit for working on real AI/ML projects?

I’m focused on building, experimenting, and using AI in real-world applications, not just creating dashboards or reports. So, would being a data scientist help me get to where I want to be, or should I go all-in on something more engineering-focused?

In short, is data science a good way to gain experience in AI if I eventually want to start my own company?

2

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3

When will data scientists get a clear definition of what they actually do? LOL

4

LOL, no. There’s a big difference in skillset between data scientists and data analysts. I do data analysis myself and wish I had the time and determination to be a data scientist.

That said, AI is going to keep changing both fields and likely introduce new job titles/functions.

Is data science a good career to gain some experience in AI in order to maybe found a startup?

If the end goal is to ‘found a startup,’ I’d suggest checking out this right now: Startup School. Data analysis, data science, and AI are just tools that founders use. They’re important, but there’s a lot more to it.

Good luck!