[ska]

Two main factors make data science stick out a little for me right now, although it isn't unique.

One is that there is buzz & excitement around "data science" right now. Nothing specific to this area, but in my experiences this creates a large number of under- or un-qualified applicants. It also creates an environment for companies to desire to hire a role they are not well qualified to hire for. It is really difficult to hire well for roles you don't understand well.

The second thing is that extremely few people are actually ready for this sort of job straight out of an academic program. A related Ph.D. or post doc plus a few years solid training in industry can make you a great candidate, but the academic work alone usually isn't even remotely close. There is confusion about this among both candidates (don't know what they don't know) and hiring managers (don't know what they are actually looking for).

Add to that an oversupply of academic credentials relative to academic jobs and you have a problem. If you are a large company with a well defined data science program and a defined "entry level" data science role, if you take skill development and training seriously and have the senior staff for it, well then you are fine taking strong academic candidates and turning them into talented data scientists. If you are a less experienced company looking for scientists to solve a problem you don't fully understand, you may be in for a pretty rough ride.