Career advice? Learn blockchain or data science?

[mobilazy]

Hi folks! I'm 32 y.o. dude with engineering background in Oilfield. Oil prices went down and with Shale oil industry and development of electric cars whole industry won't be so attractive anymore. So after yet another pay cut I decided to quit. Have some savings, can easily spend year or two to learn something new and change my career path. I decided to start as Data Analyst to grow further into Data Scientist role. People say that I have capable brain, and all this problem-solving analyst make me enthusiastic. I started learning Python, Tableau, took some Udemy/Coursera courses. But problem that I don't have MSc/Ph.d degree and might not be able to go through HR screening because of that. Do you think that I might higher chances to learn blockchain instead? There is also lack of specialist knowing blockchain and companies (especially startups planning ICO) are willing to pay them sky rocket salaries. Would it be better investment of my time, money and efforts. Appreciate you help.

[sv624]

Hi,
What did you finally do? I am kinda in a similar boat.
Thanks

[GeviraBrooks]

Difficult question , and yes and no. Data analyst will be always required and can be also used in crypto field. Blockchain specialist is in high demand now, because of hyped crypto market . In a year or two situation might change. So you choose whether to take a risk or not, no one is capable to give you a good advice here.

[CryptoBry]

Difficult question , and yes and no. Data analyst will be always required and can be also used in crypto field. Blockchain specialist is in high demand now, because of hyped crypto market . In a year or two situation might change. So you choose whether to take a risk or not, no one is capable to give you a good advice here.

Indeed, data analysts can be working for cryptocurrency too and in fact we have now many ICO projects focusing on the data industry and how to use data for better products/services on the market. On the other hand, there is a strong demand for blockchain specialists even years from now because though Bitcoin can be gone one day it is the blockchain technology that can remain on the scene as it is now adopted by many industries big and small.

[Anti-Cen]

Machines are taking our jobs along with AI that coming our way.

My best advise is to obey the machine, do not shout down the phone else you will be in trouble
for sexual discrimination and the "Hate Speech" police will come after you.

Block-Chain as used on Bitcoin is dead so look at EVO, Ripple, HashGraph and IOTA and study up on
Distributed Network Architecture as used by other but not here

[franky1]

it doesnt take a masters degree to understand blockchain tech, so its something you can learn real quick.
id say learn blockchain and then data science to then expand beyond blockchain, because the next evolution of data security is coming.

blockchain is mainly about cryptographically securing blocks of data. and as you may know, or soon learn the main gripe is getting thousands of users to store all that data for years. the next evolution is going to be about cryptographically securing the UTXO (unspent value) set without having to worry about storing decades worth of spent/meaningless transactions(blocks).

so dont spend to much time on blockchain, especially not wasting a year to get 'certified' in blockchain. because that term will get outdated quickly.

just learn to understand it (not to certify for prestige ego reasons) and then look to get ahead of the game by developing the next evolution

[hatshepsut93]

"Blockchain" is a really poor term, because it simply means a specific kind of hash-linked database, so learning blockchain kinda sounds like learning a database. If you replace the word "blockchain" with applied cryptography and distributed systems, then it starts making some sense.
So, to answer your question, I would say pick data science, because it's much safer and will always be needed, while "blockchain" is still in its early days and might easily fail when people will realize that it only works in very limited cases and can't be applied to everything. Blockchain is dangerously overhyped today, investors throw money into every product with this buzzword, which is a bad sign.

[albos]

"Blockchain" is a really poor term, because it simply means a specific kind of hash-linked database, so learning blockchain kinda sounds like learning a database. If you replace the word "blockchain" with applied cryptography and distributed systems, then it starts making some sense.
So, to answer your question, I would say pick data science, because it's much safer and will always be needed, while "blockchain" is still in its early days and might easily fail when people will realize that it only works in very limited cases and can't be applied to everything. Blockchain is dangerously overhyped today, investors throw money into every product with this buzzword, which is a bad sign.

I was going to say exactly the same. I would pick data analyst since always people an companies will need it, but we do not know enough about "blockchain".

[andrei56]

Hi folks! I'm 32 y.o. dude with engineering background in Oilfield. Oil prices went down and with Shale oil industry and development of electric cars whole industry won't be so attractive anymore. So after yet another pay cut I decided to quit. Have some savings, can easily spend year or two to learn something new and change my career path. I decided to start as Data Analyst to grow further into Data Scientist role. People say that I have capable brain, and all this problem-solving analyst make me enthusiastic. I started learning Python, Tableau, took some Udemy/Coursera courses. But problem that I don't have MSc/Ph.d degree and might not be able to go through HR screening because of that. Do you think that I might higher chances to learn blockchain instead? There is also lack of specialist knowing blockchain and companies (especially startups planning ICO) are willing to pay them sky rocket salaries. Would it be better investment of my time, money and efforts. Appreciate you help.

What you did was risky, also you need to understand that by the time you are trying to learn those subjects many people are going to do the same, this is the same as with investments, people look at the stock that is doing well and they want to invest, not realizing that is the moment to sell and not to buy, you are going to do the same with your career, it is better you find something for which there is not so much demand but that you think will be in huge demand in the future.

[mobilazy]

Wow, I thought this thread was deleted by mods, as I couldn't find it. If you're interested, I chose data analyst path but decided not to invest in MSc (for now) and PhD (definitely). I started with learning SQL, Pentaho, and  Python. Finished several courses in Udemy by Jose Portillo and Kirill Eremenko. They are quite good but gives a student a bit of slack (as you can progress at a slower pace without strict timetable). So for the next one, I chose Coursera paid course and aim to get a certificate.

Still love the crypto, doing some bounty hunting and want to practice my skills on data here on the forum to pay back the community. If one could share the way how to obtain raw data from this forum, I would gladly merit it (as soon as I get sMerit).

[amishmanish]

Data Sciences is a pretty widely acknowledged and established area. Any openings related to those will want full time credentials. There are options for freelancing but they aren't going to be easily available or give job security.

Blockchain technology on the other hand is relatively new and still evolving. If you have the time to get involved, then there is a lot of opportunities to work with various companies and individuals looking to exploit the ICO craze. They all need blockchain developers. In terms of prospects, blockchain and related programming would be a safer option.

[sinkfish]

Hi folks! I'm 32 y.o. dude with engineering background in Oilfield. Oil prices went down and with Shale oil industry and development of electric cars whole industry won't be so attractive anymore. So after yet another pay cut I decided to quit. Have some savings, can easily spend year or two to learn something new and change my career path. I decided to start as Data Analyst to grow further into Data Scientist role. People say that I have capable brain, and all this problem-solving analyst make me enthusiastic. I started learning Python, Tableau, took some Udemy/Coursera courses. But problem that I don't have MSc/Ph.d degree and might not be able to go through HR screening because of that. Do you think that I might higher chances to learn blockchain instead? There is also lack of specialist knowing blockchain and companies (especially startups planning ICO) are willing to pay them sky rocket salaries. Would it be better investment of my time, money and efforts. Appreciate you help.

you may take up data science and work your way up on blockchain application.

[stayeduptolate]

Hi folks! I'm 32 y.o. dude with engineering background in Oilfield. Oil prices went down and with Shale oil industry and development of electric cars whole industry won't be so attractive anymore. So after yet another pay cut I decided to quit. Have some savings, can easily spend year or two to learn something new and change my career path. I decided to start as Data Analyst to grow further into Data Scientist role. People say that I have capable brain, and all this problem-solving analyst make me enthusiastic. I started learning Python, Tableau, took some Udemy/Coursera courses. But problem that I don't have MSc/Ph.d degree and might not be able to go through HR screening because of that. Do you think that I might higher chances to learn blockchain instead? There is also lack of specialist knowing blockchain and companies (especially startups planning ICO) are willing to pay them sky rocket salaries. Would it be better investment of my time, money and efforts. Appreciate you help.

I don’t think so that bitcoin in present time is full time work and moreover in the present scenario bitcoin has been going through many controversies and many governments are not centralisation it so you cannot think of bitcoin as a full time work but yes no doubt there is no problem in doing part and moreover both data sciences and block chain technology can go hand in hand so you can learn both the things  can together and you can look for bitcoin as a full time work in the future.