Comment by uptownfunk

I interview probably two to three people a week for a DS job. It's a really difficult role to hire for. I'm basically looking for mathematicians with some knowledge of stats who also enjoy coding and follow best practices in coding (i.e. They didn't just pick it up and hack something that works but care enough to document and structure so others can follow it at a minimum) but we also need the MBA component as well, a large part of this industry is how do you take what a DS does and deploy it in a business and ensure the business derives value from it. But I think coming at it from a mathematical background puts you in a much stronger footing than the cs guys who try to learn the math later. I rarely find strong candidates without a formal mathematical background.