Identifying the Right Role for Yourself (Coursera)

Identifying the Right Role for Yourself (Coursera)

Data science and artificial intelligence are exciting, growing fields with a lot to offer prospective job seekers. However, even with the massive growth in technology and positions, there are still many barriers to entry. This course explores today’s challenges and opportunities within data science and artificial intelligence, the varying skills and education necessary for some commonly confused positions, as well as the specific job duties associated with various in-demand roles. By taking this course, learners will be able to discover which role and industry best fit their skills, interests, and background as well as identify any additional education needed, both of which will prepare them to apply and interview for DS/AI positions.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
• Identify the required skills, education, and experience for various DS/AI roles.
• Recall the similarities and differences between various commonly confused DS/AI roles.
• Describe a data science/artificial intelligence role that aligns with personal goals and area of interest.
• Assess what additional skill training is needed to enter a specific DS/AI role.

Course 1 of 3 in the Interviewing for DS/AI Roles Specialization.

What You Will Learn

  • Identify the required skills, education, and experience for various DS/AI roles.
  • Describe a DS/AI role that aligns with personal goals and area of interest.
  • Assess what additional skill training is needed to enter a specific DS/AI role.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Field & Roles
Welcome to Module 1, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence Field & Roles. Now that you’ve finished school or accumulated some initial experience in the data science and/or artificial intelligence fields, you’d probably like to find a full-time, long-term position. In this module, we’ll discuss the current DS/AI landscape, some of the common challenges of landing a DS/AI role, and the basic experience and education you will need to be considered for a DS/AI role. We’ll close the module with a discussion about your current DS/AI experience, education, and goals for the future. We’ll use this as a benchmark to reflect on at the end of the course and specialization.

WEEK 2
Data Scientist vs. Data Analysts vs. Data Engineer
Welcome to Module 2, Data Scientist vs Data Analysts vs Data Engineer. Data scientists, data analysts, and data engineers are roles we’ve all heard about in passing but what do they really entail? In this module, we will explore the responsibilities and required skills for these roles, along with identifying the similarities and differences between the three. We will also discuss if any of these positions align with our personal interests, skills, personalities, and future goals.

WEEK 3
Machine Learning and AI Jobs
Welcome to Module 3, Machine Learning and AI Jobs. Now that we’ve explored some data science roles, let’s transition over to a few specific ML and AI roles. In this module, we’ll review some common ML/AI roles, identify the skills necessary for securing and advancing in one of these roles, and discuss how data science and artificial intelligence roles overlap and how they differ.

WEEK 4
Other Data Science Positions
Welcome to Module 4, Other Data Science Positions. We will wrap up this course by reviewing a few more DS/AI roles that are currently in demand. Like the roles mentioned in other modules, there can be some confusion around what exactly the data architect, cloud engineer, and business analyst roles involve. In this module, we will examine the different responsibilities and required skills and experience for each of these roles. We will also determine which DS/AI role and industry best align with our personal goals, skills, and interests.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Assessment in Higher Education: Professional Development for Teachers (Coursera) Coursera
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Assessment in Higher Education: Professional Development for Teachers (Coursera)

Are you a teacher in higher education wanting to get the best out of your students and assessments? Then on behalf of Risbo, Erasmus University Rotterdam, we would like to welcome you to this MOOC on Assessment in Higher Education. In this MOOC we will guide you through the different phases of preparing, creating and evaluating the assessments in your course.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Introduction to TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning (Coursera) Coursera
DeepLearning.AI

Introduction to TensorFlow for Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning (Coursera)

If you are a software developer who wants to build scalable AI-powered algorithms, you need to understand how to use the tools to build them. This course is part of the upcoming Machine Learning in Tensorflow Specialization and will teach you best practices for using TensorFlow, a popular open-source framework for machine learning.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks
Cultures et pédagogies (Coursera) Coursera
University of Geneva

Cultures et pédagogies (Coursera)

Dans ce cours, nous explorons des alternatives pédagogiques qui s'inscrivent dans des contextes historiques, culturels et politiques différents. Vous découvrirez des pédagogies et des pédagogues qui opèrent une rupture avec les approches pédagogiques dominantes de notre société. Nous verrons ensemble les fondements pratiques et théoriques des apports de pédagogues à portée internationale, tels que P. Freire (Brésil) ou J. Krishnamurti (Inde).

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Fundamentals of Machine Learning in Finance (Coursera) Coursera
New York University Tandon School of Engineering

Fundamentals of Machine Learning in Finance (Coursera)

The course aims at helping students to be able to solve practical ML-amenable problems that they may encounter in real life that include: (1) understanding where the problem one faces lands on a general landscape of available ML methods, (2) understanding which particular ML approach(es) would be most appropriate for resolving the problem, and (3) ability to successfully implement a solution, and assess its performance.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks
Constructivism and Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Constructivism and Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education (Coursera)

This course is designed to help participants examine the implications of constructivism for learning and teaching in science, mathematics, and technology focused areas. Course readings, discussions, and assignments will examine constructivist views of learning, research on students' ideas and idea-based interactions, research on instructional approaches taking student ideas into account, and challenges in implementing constructivist perspectives in instruction.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Matrix Methods (Coursera) Coursera
University of Minnesota

Matrix Methods (Coursera)

Mathematical Matrix Methods lie at the root of most methods of machine learning and data analysis of tabular data. Learn the basics of Matrix Methods, including matrix-matrix multiplication, solving linear equations, orthogonality, and best least squares approximation. Discover the Singular Value Decomposition that plays a fundamental role in dimensionality reduction, Principal Component Analysis, and noise reduction.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Deep Learning Applications for Computer Vision (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder

Deep Learning Applications for Computer Vision (Coursera)

This course can be taken for academic credit as part of CU Boulder’s Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) degree offered on the Coursera platform. The MS-DS is an interdisciplinary degree that brings together faculty from CU Boulder’s departments of Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Information Science, and others. With performance-based admissions and no application process, the MS-DS is ideal for individuals with a broad range of undergraduate education and/or professional experience in computer science, information science, mathematics, and statistics.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Disability Inclusion in Education: Building Systems of Support (Coursera) Coursera
University of Cape Town

Disability Inclusion in Education: Building Systems of Support (Coursera)

Worldwide millions of children are not able to fully participate in schooling, and this is especially a problem for children with disabilities. In this course, we explore the support that teachers need in order to meet the needs of children with severe to profound hearing, visual and intellectual disabilities. We consider how this can be done by talking with a range of experts (from teachers to activists) about inclusive education as well as sharing experiences of education.

Oct 12th 2026
5-12 Weeks
ML Pipelines on Google Cloud (Coursera) Coursera
Google Cloud

ML Pipelines on Google Cloud (Coursera)

In this course, you will be learning from ML Engineers and Trainers who work with the state-of-the-art development of ML pipelines here at Google Cloud. The first few modules will cover about TensorFlow Extended (or TFX), which is Google’s production machine learning platform based on TensorFlow for management of ML pipelines and metadata. You will learn about pipeline components and pipeline orchestration with TFX. You will also learn how you can automate your pipeline through continuous integration and continuous deployment, and how to manage ML metadata.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks
Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (Coursera) Coursera
Politecnico di Milano

Ethics of Artificial Intelligence (Coursera)

This course deals with the problems created, aggravated or transformed by AI. It is intended to give students a chance to reflect on the ethical, social, and cultural impact of AI by focusing on the issues faced by and brought about by professionals in AI but also by citizens, institutions and societies. The course addresses these topics by means of case studies and examples analyzed in the light of the main ethical frameworks.

Oct 12th 2026
4 Weeks