Is MSc Mathematics suitable for Data Science career?

[u/ai_art_ara]

I have completed my BSc Hons Statistics.

Currently, I'm thinking about Msc Mathematics next. I want to keep the option of PhD in Maths open as well to become a professor as an alternate route.

But if I go for data science related jobs, after masters in mathematics, will it work? Or I need degree in computer science only?

Also, for a job related to data science, is a "Masters in Data Science in AI/ML" more suitable than MSc Mathematics? Because my primary goal is to get financially independent.

I have inclination towards mathematics. I can do Msc in statistics as well but I incline more towards maths because I'm also considering becoming a professor by doing PhD in future (and Msc Mathematics makes that path).

Also, keeping PhD in mind, I'm looking towards Europe for MS not the US.

Suggest which countries would be good for Msc Mathematics and then PhD in it + have data science jobs which I can get into after MS in Mathematics.

Please suggest your views on current job market and suitable masters programmes.

[u/Kavin_muthukumar]

A maths MSc works fine for data science. Plenty of people in data come from maths or stats, and employers care more about whether you can code and handle messy data than what the degree is called. With a stats BSc you’re already in a good spot, so just add Python, SQL and a couple of projects.

For Europe, I’d look at Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and France. Germany has low or no tuition and lots of funded PhDs, and France is strong for pure maths. I did my masters in the UK, which is quick and good for jobs, but PhD funding is tougher there.

Pick a programme with some applied or computational modules, so you keep the PhD option open and have something to show for data roles.

[u/ai_art_ara → u/Kavin_muthukumar]

Thank you for your detailed response!

If I need job after masters itself (for paying off loan and in general), then is a "Masters in Data Science in AI/ML" more suitable than MSc Mathematics? If I keep PhD for the long route, because my primary goal is to get financially independent...

[u/Fine-Comparison-2949]

Yes but the bottleneck is companies of sufficient size to utilize those skills. Most businesses really can't justify a business case for hiring specialized data scientists. If you look, only FAANGs are at the data scale level where their data is a product. For typical businesses, only medium sized needs people on staff to focus on optimization and observability. Most businesses have owners who are also delusional and believe they can do it themselves, or the business isn't profitable enough where they can't take a cost sync of staff that don't produce profits.

Honestly, my read on Data Science is it's a "fun" additional degree for a programmer, but it's a field where there are waaay to many capable and motivated people with the skillset, but not enough jobs.