What Does Becoming a Citizen Data Scientist Get Me?

When your enterprise turns to you to inhabit the Citizen Data Scientist role, it may (or may not) provide information on what that role is, why it is important for business users to transform into the role and exactly how the transformation will work. Online training programs, like the one mentioned in the closing lines of this article, provide information on the role, its purpose, how to collaborate with data scientists and IT, how augmented analytics solutions work and the types of analytical techniques you will be using.

This article is not meant to cover those topics but, rather, to provide a bit of information on why you might want to explore and embrace this role, what it can do for your career and your visibility and other factors to consider. So when someone says, ‘I hereby pronounce you a Citizen Data Scientist’, you are more likely to look at the pronouncement as a positive thing!

Adding to Your Resume – Using a self-serve augmented analytics solution may not come naturally to you, but with the right solution the tasks you will perform will become second nature in no time. In the meantime, you can explore, create, test theories and dive into the system to truly understand how it will support you in your role, and how you can take your knowledge and use it to ask the right questions and analyze data to make fact-based decisions. Adding ‘analytics’ and knowledge of analytical techniques to your resume is not a bad thing. Whether you are angling for a promotion or looking for a position in another company, these are skills you can use. Every business today needs to optimize productivity and resources, and a knowledge and use of analytics will job the job done faster and with better results!

Gaining Visibility – Rather than pushing for things to stay the way they are, embrace the change. Learn the solution and learn how to use augmented analytics and your role as Citizen Data Scientist to gain visibility. Be the one in the room who produces reports and information based on facts. Make observations, recommendations and plans based on the data contained within the enterprise, and use that information to your benefit. Make suggestions to your manager or team leader and show them the data to back it up. They will remember your contribution!

Having a Voice for Future Changes – If you are actively involved in using analytics and analytical solutions, you are likely to be on the team that is asked for suggestions for upgrades, future technology support and ways in which the organization can engage with and use this data and augmented analytics solutions and techniques to improve results. Where and how will the new solution be rolled out to have the greatest impact? Instead of waiting for someone to make an arbitrary decision, a business user acting as a Citizen Data Scientist has the experience and skill to provide advice and contribute to the plan.

Being a Champion – Flex your mentoring muscles and show that you are a leader. If you are actively using augmented analytics, natural language processing (NLP) tools, search analytics, smart data visualization, predictive analytics and self-serve data preparation to do your job you are well-positioned to become a champion, to explain the benefits to other, more skeptical users, and to lend a helping hand when someone has a question. Being a champion positions you to show your leadership skills!

These are just a few of the ways the Citizen Data Scientist role can benefit you. For more information on Citizen Data Scientist initiatives and how to successfully implement this type of initiative in your business, explore these Citizen Data Scientist Blog Publications.

If you are a prospective Citizen Data Scientist, you don’t have to do this alone! Contact Us to today or Click Here to explore training for Citizen Data Scientists, designed to help you succeed on your Citizen Data Scientist journey.

Original Post : I’m a Citizen Data Scientist! But Do I Want to Be?