Big data drives hot job prospect

Big data is fueling more than contracting boom -- it’s also providing a new kind of employment opportunity.

"Data scientist" has exploded in popularity as a search term in San Francisco, New York and that slice of contractor heaven, Washington D.C., according to NetworkWorld. Companies as diverse as Hewlett-Packard Co., AT&T, and Deloitte are increasingly including "data scientist" or related terms in their job listings, the website reported.

So what is a data scientist? According to Anjul Bhambhri, vice president of big data products at IBM, it is someone who can look at data and spot trends. “It is almost like a Renaissance individual who really wants to learn and bring change to an organization,” he told NetworkWorld.