Data Science Careers

What is data science?

Data Science is a rapidly emerging field that seeks to make sense out of large sets of data.

Who are data scientists and what do they do? This SAS article discusses the answer to both these questions as well as why you might want to be a data scientist. According to the Harvard Business Review, Data Scientist jobs are "the sexiest job of the 21st century." Professionals in this industry come from a variety of fields and work in many different types of industries, according to this article by June Andrews on LinkedIn.

"This variety [of educational backgrounds of data scientists] is reflected in the diversity of backgrounds of the Insight Fellows, with any given session being made of PhDs and postdocs from fields as varied as particle physics, neuroscience, biostatistics, and social psychology. As long as you are quantitatively minded, enjoy working with data, and have a curiosity that will lead you ask and answer important questions with data, you’ll have no problem making the leap out of academia into the field of data science." -Insight Data Science blog.

Read more about this field from Wikipedia and the Data Science degree at UC Berkeley. Learn about how human data science can improve patient outcomes from IQVIA. Learn more about the difference between data science and informatics in biomedical data, from the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.


Data Science - The Fundamentals
Get a quick overview of data science careers from UCSF alums working in the field


Data Science Alumni Career Paths Panel featuring UCSF alums Ibraheem Ali, PhD, Sandeep Sanga, PhD and Dominic Tong, PhD.


Get hands on exposure to data science with an

InterSECT Job Simulation


Upcoming Events

Wed
04

OCPD Office Hours (for Graduate Students and Postdocs)

Date: December 4, 2024
Time: 10 - 11 a.m. PT
Mon
09

Career and Professional Development Writing Retreat

Date: December 9, 2024
Time: 12 - 4:30 p.m.
Mon
09

OCPD Winter Celebration (for Graduate Students and Postdocs)

Date: December 9, 2024
Time: 4:30 - 6 p.m.
Tue
10

Flagship Pioneering Fellowship Info Session

Date: December 10, 2024
Time: 12 - 1 p.m.