What Does a Data Scientist Actually Do? It's Not just Maths and Data

Ask most people what they think it's like to be a data scientist and you'll get the same picture: equations, spreadsheets, someone quietly crunching numbers in a room by themselves. Nadya DeBeers has spent her career finding out that's only half true, and in this episode of The 20 Minute Career, she tells Jane Butler what the job actually involves, and why the real skill has almost nothing to do with maths. If you're a student curious about data science or wondering what a career in tech could actually look like, this conversation gives you the unfiltered version. In this video, I cover: ✅ The misconception that data science is all about maths, and what the job really demands. ✅ What a day in the life of a data scientist at a startup actually looks like. ✅ Nadya's non-linear path in, from studying maths to teaching to sales, and how one piece of paper changed everything. ✅ How machine learning actually works, explained through predicting if a house is about to sell. ✅ The pressure of startup pace, "urgent" requests, and managing up to a CEO. ✅ How AI has changed her day-to-day, and the very real burnout that comes with it. ✅ The mental cost of deep analytical work, and what "derobotting" means. ✅ What Nadya would tell her twenty-year-old self. Chapter Timestamps: 0:00 - What people get wrong about data science 0:38 - Is data science really just maths? 1:30 - A day in the life of a data scientist 3:18 - Nadya's non-linear path into the field 5:24 - Machine learning explained: predicting if a house will sell 7:39 - The pressure of startup pace and managing stakeholders 9:27 - AI, Claude, and the burnout nobody talks about 13:09 - The mental cost: "derobotting" after deep work 14:19 - What Nadya actually loves about the job 19:43 - Advice to her twenty-year-old self About the Channel: The 20 Minute Career provides real-world career insights through honest conversations with professionals. We help students and job seekers understand the true nature of different jobs to make better career decisions. Subscribe for new episodes every Wednesday. Connect with us: Everything in one place: https://linktr.ee/the20minutecareer Follow us on Instagram and TikTok @the20minutecareer The 20 Minute Career — Real People, Real Jobs, Honest Conversations. #DataScience #TechCareers #The20MinuteCareer #CareerAdvice #MachineLearning #DataScientist #CareerGuidance #TechJobs #NonLinearCareer #AIcareers