You can take a look at this book Analyzing the Analyzers
The Authors surveyed data scientists, asking about their
experiences and how they viewed their own skills and careers.They answer your question what is a "data scientist"
That's a great paper. I wonder how I've missed it. I'm happy to to say that it partially confirms my own take on the situation. I thought of it only in 2 categories - Comp sci/math guys vs. Applied statistics guys (mostly from Humanities). Reality seems more nuanced then that (as always). Very nice read!