“AI destroys jobs but creates businesses.”

That one statement crystallised what I’ve long believed about building a data science career.

The statement was made by best-selling author and futurist Peter H. Diamandis in a recent post.

Diamandis argues that while AI will lead to the destruction of white-collar jobs, as organisations replace human workers with AI, AI has made it easier than ever for entrepreneurs to launch one-person companies.

The jobs that AI creates, therefore, won’t look like traditional jobs, but instead, like businesses.

Whether Diamandis is right remains to be seen - my view of the future is a bit more optimistic. Nevertheless, what it does highlight is that, for data scientists, business skills have become more vital than ever before.

In previous posts, I’ve argued that every data scientist should build their career as though they’re running a business - even if that business happens to be a solo operation with just one client: their employer. (I even did a podcast on this topic.)

This is because the skills necessary to succeed as a solo data science consultant are the exact same skills required to succeed in a regular job. Skills like:

• Marketing your skills internally;
• Finding opportunities for new projects;
• Managing stakeholder relationships; and
• Delivering value to ensure repeat customers.

Diamandis claims that to succeed in the AI-first world, the most critical skill to build is AI orchestration. I don’t dispute the importance of that. But Diamandis is also a seasoned entrepreneur with multiple successful businesses to his name - to him, business skills have likely become second nature.

For most data scientists, they haven’t. And they’re rarely included in formal data science graduate programs.

Yes, now is the time to learn how to harness AI. But it’s also the time to start treating your career as though you’re running a business - while you still have the safety of a regular job to practice on.

Because if Diamandis turns out to be wrong, you have nothing to lose. But if he turns out to be right, you’ll already be ready.

Talk again soon,

Dr Genevieve Hayes

p.s. Not sure how to develop the business skills needed to take your data career to the next level? Through my Strategic Expert Mentorship Program, I work 1-1 with data professionals to do exactly that. Hit reply if you have any questions or would like to know more.