Data analysts and data scientists, in my opinion, are interchangeable professions in many instances; the only difference is their focus and process.

Most data analysts focus on business applications. They typically come from a corporate background but are well-versed in advanced maths and statistical analytic skills, which they may have learnt at university but are frequently acquired through their professions.

Data scientists are typically responsible for inventing, tuning, and managing complex algorithms derived from business data.

Analytics is focused on analyzing past data to derive insights for informed decision-making. Data Science, on the other hand, involves predicting future trends and developing automated systems to enhance decision processes.

• Analytics explains what happened and why using past data.
• Data Science predicts what will happen next and automates insights using algorithms and AI