Controller vs. Data Scientist - The Sexiest Jobs of the 21st Century
Women in Data at herCAREER
Women in Data partners with herCAREER, the leading exhibition for women’s career planning in Germany, Europe. The exhibition will take place in mid September in Munich, Germany, and deals with all aspects of women’s career planning – from opportunities and challenges, advanced training opportunities, start-ups and entrepreneurship to the compatibility of job and family. The topics of finance, money and retirement planning have also become the essential pillars of the fair.
For the first time, WiD will host one of the many Meet-ups at herCAREER. Eva Habermann, one of our Munich members, will speak about Data Science and Controlling. Controllers have existed for many years and represent one of the most important positions in companies. The profession of Data Scientist, on the other hand, has become increasingly popular in recent years and is now even described as the sexiest job in the 21st century. In the career meetup Eva Habermann, Controller and Data Analyst at Yunex Traffic (A Siemens Business), will review the two functions of a Controller and a Data Scientist and displays in which way they differ, what skills they are based on and what role the two positions currently play in companies. In preparation for the exhibition, Eva was interviewed by the organizer.
Eva, why is the profession of Data Scientist now even described as the sexiest job in the 21st century?
The profession of Data Scientist was already called “the sexiest job in the 21st century” by the Harvard Business Review in 2012. Back then, the job title was rather new and professionals carrying it were mainly recruited from other fields of scientific research, such as physics. Over the last decade the importance of data in companies and organizations has further increased and so has the demand for employees with the capability of extracting insights from data that support corporate decision making. Whether large amounts of data have already been sitting in organizations untouched or are newly provided by innovative technologies, today the Data Scientist is more popular than ever. Behind this trend is our human urge to get to the core of things and to really understand motive and coherences. To put it in a nutshell: data is knowledge, knowledge is power – and power is sexy!
In which way do the two functions of a Controller and a Data Scientist differ?
The two functions get compared to each other quite often due to their broad range of similarities. Looking at their main tasks both functions take care of data gathering, preparation, analysis and visualization. Both need to be equipped with analytical thinking and problem-solving capabilities, a strategic and proactive mindset, excellent communication skills as well as profound knowledge about the business itself. In addition, they mainly work with data from the past in order to predict future outcome, e. g. revenue or customer behavior. While the main target of the Data Scientist in this context is predicting the future as precisely as possible, the Controller’s target also includes hitting the predefined objectives of planning. Therefore, it is also a Controller’s main task to initiate measures if the achievement of goals is at risk. Another difference is the kind of data both functions work with. Controllers mainly work with structured data coming from an already validated data source while Data Scientists often need to first find a suitable data source, then clean and structure the available data themselves. Also, the Controller mostly looks at data with a specific need or question in mind while the Data Scientist sometimes has an existing data set and their task is to find information therein, e. g. patterns or structures. In general, the Data Scientist is left with more complex questions and problems to solve. These differences in practice are the foundation for dissimilar educational backgrounds the functions usually have. The Controller has a business administration background bringing along detailed knowledge in financial KPIs as well as accounting and reporting processes and structures. The Data Scientist has a background in math/statistics or computer science leading to a broad skill set in analytical methods, statistical modeling, programming and machine learning.
What role do the two positions currently play in companies?
Well-established in companies for decades the characteristics of Controllers have changed with time. While the position used to be seen as a “nitpicker” mainly making sure that the reported data is correct, today Controllers are rather seen as business partners or consultants to the management. In most companies the controlling department works closely with the senior management and supports them in their data needs. Controllers are assigned with keeping the company on track through e. g. detecting potential cost savings or potentials for business development. As Data Scientists are comparably new to the business world their role hasn’t changed as much over the last years but their possible applications in companies have gotten continuously broader. Today, Data Scientists are appointed to grow and strengthen the business by e. g. improving products as well as internal and external processes. Usually, they are also in close exchange with the management due to their strategic focus.
Are interested in joining us in person in Munich this September? Win a 1-Day ticket pass to the herCAREER exhibition by becoming a WiD member. (Sign up here). Already a member? Go to the portal and navigate to “Resources” > “Business” > “HerCareer Ticket Exhibition Lottery” and fill out the form for a chance to win!
Find out more about the event on herCAREER website.
Eva Habermann studied Business Administration at Technische Hochschule in Nuremberg and as a Visiting Graduate Student at Columbia University in the US. She started working in the field of financial controlling for a carsharing company in Munich being responsible for two corporate markets. After three years Eva joined the data analytics department of a big car rental company in Munich getting deeper involved with data. Today, she is working as a Performance Controller at Yunex Traffic (A Siemens Business) focusing on process optimization and automation.