A Ph.D. In astrophysics who was mining giant particle accelerator data now analyzes ratings for Yelp Inc. A biostatistics Ph.D. who mined records for early signs of breast can error now writes statistical models for do search terms for e commerce Etsy inc. A Ph.D in cognitive psychology works for mobile star up square one.
They r called unicorns for they r so hard to find.
High pay. 200 to 300 $ K after 2 years.
Today’s WSJ.
Is this progress? Science takes back seat to mundane low tech business that passes for high tech. Discuss.
It says more about the person than anything doesn't it? Did they do it as an intellectual challenge, just the money or what? Can they see quicker results of their hypothesis? Is there the thrill of using a much varied set of data assets?
The issue is not with data scientists but those with context. Exploratory investigation for patterns and all is fine but correlations are not causations, data coverage and mix is constantly changing so it's not gospel and findings should not be treated as such. So there are practitioners in other fields, building there data skills to solve major issues like flood control planning, crime prevention and emergency mgmt.
My reply in ALL CAPS. (The quote function with ability to insert answers at various points in style is still a mystery to me.)
It says more about the person than anything doesn't it? YES. Did they do it as an intellectual challenge, just the money or what? GREAT QUESTION. PER THE ARTICLE THE FOLKS DIDN'T SAY IT WAS ABOUT THE MONEY. ALSO NOT FOR INTELECTUAL CHALLENGE. Can they see quicker results of their hypothesis? YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD. YES THAT WAS WHAT MOST SAID. Is there the thrill of using a much varied set of data assets? PROBABLY. THOUGH ARTICLE DIDN'T SAY THAT.
The issue is not with data scientists but those with context. TRUE. Exploratory investigation for patterns and all is fine but correlations are not causations, TRUE THAT. data coverage and mix is constantly changing so it's not gospel and findings should not be treated as such. INDEED. So there are practitioners in other fields, building there data skills to solve major issues like flood control planning, crime prevention and emergency mgmt.
At least I understand the last 3. Those are really useful for society.
There is a lot being done, optimizing traffic, which has far reaching impact on quality of life plus fuel economy and environment for example, transport and logistics, even simple things as preventing stock outs while reducing inventory and truck delivery routes for CPG goods, also reducing spoilage factors.
and same type of techniques used for medicine availability.
Speaking of optimizing traffic the lights on our city streets are asynchronized to maximize inefficiency. I was reprimanding multiple lights that would turn red and stay there for no apparent reason. Yes all of the usages u listed seem to be necessary.
Among my pet peeves. Having lights in sync for different traffic patterns is not Rickey science. The new approaches can adjust on the fly to optimize but even before this, traffic volume study can indicate trouble spots. The issue is more with it being a priority for municipalities.
A mile down from my place there are two traffic signals, no more than 12-13 cars can fit in between those two signals and they have not been in sync for years, creating a massive mile long traffic jam every morning and evening. The simplest solution would be to get rid of the first signal because there is little traffic turning on from those streets to the Main Street, or you have them in sync. To my surprise with some expansion work going on they all of a sudden fixed it and traffic flow has improved overnight.
The reduction in waste is important even if not the basic goal from a socially responsible angle. If data can be used to predict likelihood of response via emails direct mail, then direct mail can be reduced. If it can target more precisely the total volume of mail sent can be decreased significantly. For business it's lower marketing costs, for people it's less junk mail, and for the environment it's less waste all around, from the paper and ink and energy to print all the way to logistics costs and impact, to reduction in how much goes into landfills.
I don't claim to be someone focused on the social responsible business stuff, but what I described above I have done for major companies. So bigger picture even this data utilization for marketing has some good societal value :-)
A person with a PhD in astrophysics isn't necessarily an expert in some area of astrophysics. It simply means the person is capable of conducting research in the area and it could be just his/her maths skills which earned the person a PhD. I have seen people graduate as PhDs in mechanical engineering who have never operated a machine in their life. I PhD is simply training for research, and that training can be applied to any field.
It is a norm now for investment banks and other financial institutions to attract PhD's in Physics/engineering for research in Finance. Nothing wrong with that.
Agreed X2. Didn't think of that angle. Improving efficiency and reducing waste is a good outcome.
.Re 1st para - on way to work, we have that exact situation. Two signals between which only 15 cars would fit. And the cross street for one of the signals is NOT busy. But even if there is one car on the cross street, the light for that street turns green this stopping traffic flow along main street.
Almost as if someone is being paid to make these signals work at their point of minimum efficiency.
No SindSagar. That would be a waste of talent IMO. Plus, as a long term investor, the daily gyrations are noise. As for huge bubbles and collapses, proper asset allocation and periodic rebalancing would make such gyrations both moot and mute.