Data science skills for the next generation of statisticians

Abstract

This paper analyses the future prospects of statistics as a profession and how data science will change it. Indeed, according to Hadley Wickham, Chief Scientist at Rstudio, “a data scientist is a useful statistician”, establishing a strong connection between data science and applied statistics. In this direction, the aim is to look to the future by proposing a structural approach to future scenarios. Some possible definitions of data science are then discussed, considering the relationship with statistics as a scientific discipline. The focus then turns to an assessment of the skills required by the labor market for data scientists and the specific characteristics of this profession. Finally, the phases of a data science project are considered, outlining how these can be exploited by a statistician.