The big data profession is in more demand than ever before. Some STEM professionals are still hesitant to pursue careers in data mining, because they feel that it is a bubble. A few experts have warned that big data might be a fad. However, after looking at the growing need for big data in many professions, it is clear that there will be a tremendous amount of job security for data scientists and data miners.
It is a good idea to pay attention to understand the role that big data will play in different industries for a couple of reasons:
- You can understand the overall future demand for data mining professionals if you are considering a career in that area.
- You will have a better idea of the specific industries that you can pursue if you want to gain employment as a data miner. This will help you better customize your career map, since you will need to probably develop supplemental competencies.
You will need to be aware of the different industries that are driving the need for data mining experts. Here are some of the industries that are shaping the profession the most.
Financial auditing
The financial sector as a whole has played a very important role in driving the need for data professionals. Some segments of the financial industry are applying different big data solutions than others. The auditing industry is a prime example.
The Internal Revenue Service is probably one of their organizations that relies on big data the most. Every year, the IRS receives around 240 million tax returns. They need to scan tax returns for accuracy and make sure that people are not underpaying their taxes.
Before the advent of big data, scrutinizing tax returns was incredibly complex. The IRS needed to manually review tax returns. Since they obviously lacked the resources to individually examine every single return, they had to focus on auditing high earning individuals that could yield the best ROI for the money spent on audits.
In 2019, this is no longer the case. Tax returns are automatically cross checked against 1099, W-2 and banking forms that have been submitted to the IRS. The entire system is now automated, largely due to advances in data mining algorithms. IRS computers will identify discrepancies with their big data algorithms and send CP2000 notices to taxpayers that failed to accurately report. They sent around 3.7 million of these notices in 2011, which would not have been possible without major advances in big data.
This is significantly improving the IRS’s ability to collect taxes accurately, which is central to the federal governments bottom line. As a result, they are going to be hiring more data miners in the future. The state level tax authorities will probably be doing the same thing.
Private auditing companies will also need more data miners, although the exact purpose will be somewhat different. They will need to look at numerous forms and external data sources to make sure their clients are complying with applicable regulations.
Healthcare
The healthcare sector is also highly dependent on big data. Companies at every customer touch point will depend on big data to deliver quality service.
Direct care providers will be among those that depend most heavily on big data. Here are some ways that it will be essential in the near future:
- They will need big data to make sure that patient records are consistent and accurate. This minimizes the risks of medical errors, which is the third most common source of fatalities. This will significantly reduce the cost of medical litigation. It will also reduce the prevalence of billing errors.
- Big data will be essential to helping healthcare providers make informed care decisions. They will need access to massive data repositories from various health organizations to ensure they can make empirically-based healthcare decisions. New Hadoop technology has made it possible for them to analyze multiple variables while mining data, so they can customize healthcare delivery for clients based on demographic information and known symptoms.
- Big data is also essential for cost control in the healthcare sector. The Affordable Care Act requires healthcare organizations to take every possible precaution to reduce their readmission rates. Data mining helps them minimize the risks of errors to avoid this problem. It also helps hospitals find other ways to manage costs.
Since the average profit margin of a hospital is 7.7%, big data is incredibly important for them.
Criminal justice
The criminal justice profession is also very dependent on data mining. There are numerous reasons that it is transforming the profession.
Helping law enforcement cooperate across jurisdictions
Anybody that watched the Ted Bundy Files was probably shocked to hear how many problems it causes when different jurisdictions don’t share resources with each other. Back in the 1970s, Ted Bundy was able to escape detection by operating in different states for years. Police departments in those communities would have noticed overlapping patterns that coincided with his presence if they were able to share details with each other. However, since computerized law enforcement systems were not available, this was not a possibility.
In 2019, big data has made it much easier for law-enforcement organizations to share data with each other. Important findings can be stored in a national database. Hadoop data mining technology makes it easier than ever for law enforcement officials to look for patterns in other jurisdictions and see if they correlate with any individuals that relocated. This makes it much more difficult for serial criminals with a certain modus operandi to avoid justice.
Collecting digital data on perpetrators
Law-enforcement professionals still rely heavily on old-school forensics. However, a growing number of pieces of forensic evidence are digital these days.
The trick is to be able to find it. This is especially the case with crimes with a cyber component. Sometimes it is necessary to identify a perpetrators entire digital footprint. They may have hidden profiles and email addresses that can be difficult to find. Discovering all of their information can be particularly difficult if they are operating on the dark web.
New data mining technology is able to index billions of data sets across the entire Internet and search them for patterns that relate to a person of interest. This makes it much easier for law enforcement and prosecutors to bring them to justice.
Helping prosecutors and defense attorneys find relevant case law
Prosecutors need to find relevant case law to make sure defendants are charged with the appropriate crimes. Likewise, defense attorneys need to find presidents that help them give their clients the best possible defense.
These days, the majority of legal statutes and case presidents have been digitalized. The problem is that it can be difficult to find the information that lawyers need to make their cases. This is where data mining professionals can be invaluable. They are able to develop more sophisticated data mining tools t these days, the maturity of legal statutes and case presidents have been digitalized. The problem is that it can be difficult to find the information that lawyers need to make their cases. This is where data mining professionals can be invaluable. They are able to develop more sophisticated data mining tools and use them to help attorneys find the information they need.