Data science is a new field in the world of big data, but already the signs point toward great things for this young discipline. More so than ever before, data is the lifeblood of business, and those who can draw value from that data are seeing a great demand for their talents.

To gain some insight into the life of a data scientist, Sam Kahane (@Sam_Kahane), from the SiliconANGLE Media team, visited the IBM DataFirst Launch event in New York. There, he met with Jennifer Shin, senior principal data scientist at The Nielsen Co.

A new opportunity for scientists and engineers

The conversation opened with Shin explaining the exciting side of data science. She related that it’s a great outlet for scientists to show their expertise in real-world domains they didn’t have before. “It’s a great opportunity for scientists and engineers,” she said.

As for her own job, Shin mentioned doing everything from university engagements to working with data science for The Nielsen Co., where she leads a lot of initiatives. The most well-known thing at The Nielsen Co. involves television ratings, but it also does digital content. Right now, the business is redefining its role.

A new IBM

Also redefining its role is IBM Corp., a company deeply invested in the future. The IBM DataFirst event represented part of that change.

Shin agreed that IBM has been reinventing itself for some years now. She noted that the community is seeing the industry giant define itself in the data science space.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE and theCUBE’s coverage of the IBM DataFirst Launch event.

Photo by SiliconANGLE