It is obvious that a data scientist should have an interest in data, a strong analytical, mathematical background and a good intuition on numbers. A profund basic of statistics (the more the better), an insight into the tools (Excel is a very powerful and useful tool!) and a good part of endurance to handle complex processes and work on large data sets.
However these skills are not the essential competencies of a data scientist, moreover it is important that a data scientist understands the details on the algorithms applied in order to decide how to further optimize models, performance and processes. Experience with performance optimization algorithms, distributed calculation and programming are of great help. A good data scientist is able to structure and prioritize, distinguish between useful and unuseful information and also be able to work with people from different departments. Further imprescindible abilities are good communication and presentation skills to a wide audience, the task to help business in decisions on complex business processes is only fulfilled if the business actually understands and gets to "see" the results.
Last but not least a data scientist should always be open to new ideas, as the models and the requirements change regularily.
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