How do data scientists spend their time? How do the companies they work for consume and contribute to open source software? How concerned are they about the potential impact of a shortage of suitably qualified candidates for future jobs? 

These questions are answered in the 2022 State of Data Science Report from Anaconda, makers of a Python distribution popular among data scientists. In an online survey conducted during April and May, data was collected from nearly 3,500 students, academics, and professionals from 133 countries with the aim of exploring topics and trends that concern the data science community. 

The report starts with respondent demographics. 40% of participants came from North America, 76% of the were male and 66% were between 18 and 41 years old. Respondents tended to have high educational attainment with 81% have at least a Bachelor's Degree and 46% having a postgraduate degree and to be in senior-level jobs:

Respondents were asked how much time they spent on the key tasks in data analysis and reporting. The results were then averaged:

The chart shows that around 38% of time is spent on data preparation and cleansing. Working with models through selection, training, and deployment takes about 27% while interpretation takes around 29% - 16% on reporting and presentation and 13% on data visualization.

The survey also investigated respondents interaction with open source software. Only 8% worked in organizations that didn't permit the use of open source software and the employers of most respondents encouraged then to contribute to open source. 

Comparing the 2022 results with that of the previous year, the report states:

This year, just 51.99% of commercial respondents said their teams are encouraged to contribute to open-source projects—about a 13% YoY decrease, perhaps due to security
concerns.

The majority response was that employers were empowering them to contribute to open source through additional time dedicated to contributing to open-source projects:

Another question put to commercial respondents addressed the fact that attracting and retaining employees is challenging the technology industry more than ever before, asking How concerned is your organization about the potential impact of a talent shortage?  

The finding that only 10% of respondents are not concerned, i.e. 90% are, is in line with what we've previously reported. While the shortage of suitably skilled data scientists is obviously worrying for hiring managers it also represents an opportunity to those with an interest in cutting edge technologies such as machine learning and data analytics. The message, which is topic of previous articles on I Programmer is that Data Scientists are in demand and can expect above average pay and gaining certification to consolidate your skills in this area is a worthwhile career step.  

More Information

2022 State of Data Science Report

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