With 100’s of Terabytes of data, companies want new hires who understand the the entire scope of big data processing. It is a different mindset, and there is a struggle to identify the skills needed, but some have been tagged.
- Working with traditional SQL relational databases
- Distributing loads on servers
- Strong math and coding skills and business savvy
- Willingness to learn new skills (different database or OS)
- Higher level quantitative skill sets
- Research Scientist background
Because of the shortage, crossing from one industry to another is not a considerable barrier. Modis Kelly says, “Data is data. Industry vertical really isn’t going to be the key driver. Its going to be what did you do with the data, how large of an environment was it.” Hiring organizations will avoid backgrounds with small companies because of the small data experience being so radically different. Jim Yu says it involves finding candidates who, “understand the right questions to ask around this data and how to tease this into actions that result in business outcomes for our customers.”
Source: Computerworld, Big data worker shortage demands job candidates with diverse backgrounds by Fred O’Connor, October 10, 2012