Do More With Data on Twitter and Beyond With an MSc in Computer Science

Twitter and all other social channels are so much more than ways to connect with your customers and vice versa. They offer key insights that you cannot get elsewhere, from how users interact with your brand and how different campaigns resonate with your audience.

Every social media manager knows how to explore analytical information so that they can better inform themselves on how to get more Twitter followers.

That is not the beginning and end of it all, however.

For a business to truly succeed, data needs to be collected and analyzed from a vast collection of sources. This ranges from social media to your website, all the way down to supply chain logistics and buyer behavior in stores.

Computers are easily able to collect this data; what is not easy is understanding it. Analytics takes uncategorized data and process them in ways that you can understand, but they have their limits.

To truly stand out in your field and prove you are invaluable for any business, you are going to want to specialize with a Masters in Computer Science online or in person.

1. What Skills Do You Need to Make the Most Out of Twitter and Beyond?

Big Data refers to all data ever produced. Analyzing Big Data can provide insights into society, economics, and development in ways we never thought possible.

Though there are many limitations to Big Data — security and privacy ironically work against it — many of the same concepts from Big Data can be applied to every business.

Instead of looking at all data ever produced, however, you will be looking at all the data available for that one company, or even one resource like Twitter.

Enterprise-sized businesses need a data analyst to put together their data and understand it so that real strategies based on evidence can be created.

2. To perform such a feat, you will need skills in a few areas:

a. Computer Programming

Being proficient in at least one computing language is often essential, as not every program or system is going to divulge its data in a way you can extract and analyze.

You need to be able to troubleshoot, hack, and even develop software to reach your end goal.

b. Understanding of Statistics

Getting data and organizing it is just the first step. Data analysts need to be able to take the data and extrapolate so that better business can be conducted using their actual historical information.

You can better predict product sales, narrow down when campaigns work best almost to a science, and so much more.

c. SQL Database Expertise

Most data will need to be processed in an SQL database or similar program, so you will need to know how to use SQL through and through.

d. Data Analysis

Data analysis, in general, is also its skill and culminates in many different requirements and abilities.

3. What is Data Analysis?

Data analysis has several steps. You will inspect data, clean it for better analysis, transform it into a visual representation of itself, model it, and so on so that you can extract new information from the data and produce informed conclusions that work to better the business or organization you work for.

4. What are the Benefits of Data Analysis?

We learn by looking from the past, but our brains are not designed to process sizeable raw data collections. We cannot make sense of a massive screen of numbers without first organizing those numbers into meaningful ways. That is the job of the data analyst.

a. Your Future Career in Data Analysis

Data analysis is a big industry, and it’s only growing as businesses open their eyes to the power and wealth found in their systems. There are restrictions, of course.

GDPR, for example, has made data retention more complicated, though adhering to it also better protects your customers and reputation, so it is a fair trade-off.

As for what your potential career could look like, know that:

b. Outlook

In 2018 there were over 3 million job listings for data analysts. The job industry grew by 29% that year and has done so consistently ever since.

c. Average Annual Income

Data scientists and other computer science specialists make the big bucks, with a data analyst earning between $93,000 to $142,000 per year.

d. Job Satisfaction

According to Glassdoor.com, data analysis is the #1 ranked job in 2019, culminating in future opportunities, job satisfaction, and annual income.

5. How to Become a Data Scientist

Data scientists are significant roles for those with a computer science background. However, just because you have a BSc in Computer Science does not automatically mean that you are ready.

a. Be Prepared to Take Foundational Courses

Data Science involves statistical models and machine learning, so you may still need to use these steps before you are ready to even apply to an MSc. Thankfully, obtaining these foundational credits is very easy.

The better MSc options will allow you to take foundational courses included with your degree so that you can build upon the knowledge you are missing and then finally specialize.

b. Find the Right MSc for You

While there are specific data science degrees out there, you will be far better off specializing an MSc in Computer Science, unless of course you already have an MSc.

Either way, it can be a good idea to look at the full course description to see what each class offers and whether you need it.

Choosing the right degree is going to be crucial and will prove that you have the skills it takes when you start job hunting.

c. What to Remember About Computer Science

The computer science and technology sectors are always evolving, so while you may have an MSc to your name, it is certainly not the last course you will want to take.

While small updates to programming languages or tools can be learned on the way, new tools might be better absorbed in a specialty, short-term course.

Just be ready to invest in yourself throughout your life, because only then can you truly become a data scientist who sees the potential in all data, whether that is found on Twitter or the world over.