Can data scientists work from home?

Working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic was an entirely new adventure. As the days rolled by, many found it challenging to maintain a work-life balance, as it is the complete opposite of working with a team in traditional offices. 

Now that pandemic is all but over and many organisations are calling staff back to the office, is working from home still an option for data scientists? Read on to find out.

Can data scientists work from home?

Yes. Data scientists can work from home. It’s now pretty much standard for those who are qualified. Remote data science jobs offer attractive opportunities for qualified applicants, given that their work mainly involves analysing data and creating prediction models, which require little – if any – physical synchronous collaboration.  

To find your way into this barely visible but highly skilled legion, you need a solid technical background, good communication skills, strong and steady internet connectivity, and a reliable cloud-based work environment, because you will have to align many projects remotely, to collaborate with other specialists, and to present your analysis to various stakeholders. You’ll also need a work space conducive to productivity and creativity.  

The role and responsibilities‌ of ‌a data scientist 

As a data scientist you are likely to be responsible for various tasks, including:

• Organising massive amounts of data from various sources;
• Cleaning up data to ensure accuracy in analysis;
• Working with nontechnical peers and stakeholders to understand business goals;
• Database management;
• Data mining;
• Exploratory data analysis;
• Understanding, evaluating, and interpreting results;
• Adjusting models on the basis of stakeholder feedback;
• Creating machine learning algorithms;
• Deploying algorithms and predictive models to mine data, find patterns, and extract actionable insights;
• Interpreting data and making recommendations; and
• Communicating their analysis, projections, and recommendations to nontechnical peers and stakeholders.

The advantages of working from home as a data scientist

Working as a data scientist can be intellectually demanding and analytically satisfying. Given the nature of the job, it is probably one of the most remote-friendly ones, and greatly valued by organisations for its ability to help cut costs in the long run.

Working from home allows data science professionals to focus more on the technical aspects of data science than on client interaction, spending most of their time creating visualisations, models, and analyses, and focusing on client delivery.

From a personal perspective, it also permits data scientists:

• Flexibility;
• It’s cost-effective (no commuting and reduced office attire costs);
• Is mostly free of co-worker and client disruptions; contributing to
• Improved productivity; and
• Better health and well-being. 

Virtual office challenges

The challenges in remote work can include:

• Household disruption;
• The risk of side-tracking to attend to personal tasks; and
• Lack of social interaction.

These challenges can mostly be managed through self-discipline, imposing strict rules for your household, and arranging regular meetings with your team. 

Cultivating an environment for success

For most data scientists there are more pros than cons in remote work. By employing solid communication, collaboration, and time management strategies, you can cultivate an environment for work-from-home success.
If you are considering a career in data science, explore Digital Regenesys’ data science courses and enrol to start building a career in this sought-after job field.