Prospects for Big Data Analytics Industry in Hong Kong

Prospects for Big Data Analytics Industry in Hong Kong

October 18, 2017

In the big data era, many companies are adopting big data analytics, but what are the prospects for Hong Kong's data analysis?

We often think that Data Scientists and Data Analysts look similar, but what they actually do are completely different. Data scientists incline to the academic research level, they explore rules from the data, and conduct test to find out methods to support the theory or hypothesis. While Data Analysts aim to solve customer’s problems after the customer raises recommendations. The skills required for these two professionals are completely different.

Data analysts help companies to integrate disparate information into dataset and analyze it. This makes every business decision more scientific and accurate. Sometimes when customers do not fully understand data analysis, Data Analyst should be able to help customers on defining goals, collecting data, and data transformation. After the target is clear, Data Analyst begins to ask customer for relevant data.

Data collection is not the hardest part, but turning the data into useful questions is. As data does not speak itself, data analyst is responsible to analyze the data and tell the stories behind. Basically, analysts work in teams, and they need to continuously learn and absorb the latest knowledge along with rapid development of technology

As for the remuneration package, monthly salary of new entry-level positions starts from HKD$13,000. With one or more years of business data analysis experience, the monthly salary is expected to rise to HKD$16,000. Equipped with skills like SAS, SQL and other data management techniques is also an advantage. After 3 to 5 years experience, monthly salary can be raised to more than HKD$20,000, and senior positions can even earn HKD$80,000 monthly. While academic background is not a primary entry requirement, personal analysis and communication skills are the keys to enter the industry. However, graduates major in Information Systems often perform better, as they are equipped with both solid IT knowledge and proper business training. In addition, data analysts must have a certain IT background, business sense, and have to know about “story telling".