21st Century Workforce in Applied Mathematics Part II
Skills at the interface of computational sciences and applied mathematics are currently in high demand. Mathematicians, Statisticians, Physicists, and Software Developers have expected workforce growth ranging from 9% to 31%, during 2018 — 2028, as projected by the U.S. Department of Labor. These occupations have percent change in workforce size growing at a pace faster than average, in part due to the rapid data science evolution.
Digital Building Block Skills
Figure 1. New foundational skills for the digital economy. Source: Burning Glass Technologies.
The 21st Century Foundational Skills resulted from an examination of 150 million job postings in the United States and 56 million resumes during 2007 — 2017. Figure 1 depicts three main groups: Human Skills, Business Enabler Skills, and Digital Building Block Skills.
The demand for Digital Building Block Skills grew by an average 32% over 2012 — 2017. Anant Agarwal, founder and CEO of edX, explains "[they] leverage technology to add value and align with functional domains that are critical to the information economy".
Computational algorithms, machine learning, artificial intelligence, and data science are all in the toolbox of data-driven decision makers and functional analysts. Digital Building Block Skills, such as, software development and computer programming, induce salary premiums 34%-to-38% above average.
Cloud Computing
One of the underlying technologies for data science and artificial intelligence is Cloud Computing. Defined as “on-demand availability of computer system resources, especially data storage (cloud storage) and computing power, without direct active management by the user”, these technologies are proving resilient in the midst of COVID-19 lockdowns. The 2020 forecast, by Gartner Inc., of cloud computing revenue is $266.4 billion, with market shares distributed among tech firms that include:
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Microsoft Azure
Google Cloud
Alibaba Cloud
Oracle Cloud
IBM Cloud
As of this writing, 13 July 2020, AWS remains one of the fastest growing Amazon teams having 11,294 open jobs. In contrast, other teams such as Transportation & Logistics and Fulfillment & Operations have 2,473 and 1,751 open jobs, respectively.
Micro-Credentials
A formal degree (e.g., A.S., B.S., M.S., Ph.D.) in computer science is not needed to become well-versed in Digital Building Block Skills. Instead, training schemes inspired by merit badges or continuing education units are evolving as readily accessible pathways that empower learners with micro-credentials.
One of the best-structured platforms with virtual self-paced delivery is known as AWS Educate, where “students and educators have access to content and programs developed to skill up for cloud computing careers in growing fields”, e.g., machine learning and data science. AWS Educate also connects companies hiring for cloud skills to qualified student job seekers via the AWS Educate Job Board.
Kaggle Learn is another excellent venue to acquire micro-credentials. Kaggle, a subsidiary of Google LLC, is an online community of data scientists and machine learning practitioners.
We include here hyperlinks to three additional platforms offering training certificates with variable time length and depth:
Selected Job Searches
A snapshot of the job market for Digital Building Block Skills was obtained from three job search websites, while using all of the following keywords:
Python or R
SQL or Structured Query Language
Machine Learning or Deep Learning
Natural Language Processing or NLP
Artificial Intelligence or AI
Cloud Computing
Results as of 13 July 2020:
13,337 jobs (glassdoor.com)
352,291 jobs (indeed.com)
372,503 jobs (ziprecruiter.com)
Reports by National Academies Press
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine issued two comprehensive reports: The Mathematical Sciences in 2025, published in 2013; and Data Science for Undergraduates Opportunities and Options, published in 2018.
The former states that the integration of mathematics, statistics, and computation is pivotal for economic growth, national competitiveness, and national security. These words resonate during the COVID-19 era.
One recommendation in the 2018 report reads: "...as data science programs develop, they should focus on attracting students with varied backgrounds and degrees of preparation.” The guidelines provided by the National Center for Women & Information Technology are well-suited to accomplish this task.