Congratulations! The professional interests that stand out in your profile are primarily Investigative and Artistic. For this reason, you should choose jobs and studies that involve the observation of physical or intellectual phenomena and creative ability or imagination.
A future-oriented job that matches your combination of interests is Data Science Expert Astronomer
ALMA is the world's largest astronomical project, generating 2 TB of information daily.
The Data Science Expert Astronomer will be responsible for designing the global Big Data system that research entities will use to collect, analyze, and store data from astronomical sources. They will be an expert in data science but also need to understand the astrophysics environment and the different types of data collected in it. They must comprehend which data can provide crucial information, differentiating the needs of each research line, to design a global and integrative data collection system that facilitates subsequent analysis. They will be capable of merging measurements of different types into a single database without the risk of bias or information overlap, ensuring proper storage. Additionally, they will assist researchers in creating forecasts and benchmarks to support investigations.
Interest in space dates back to the dawn of humanity, and its research is now more prominent than ever. According to publications from the University of Chicago, each generation of observatories is 10 times more sensitive than the previous one, exponentially increasing the amount of data they generate. In Chile, ALMA, currently the world's largest astronomical project, surveys the universe with radio telescopes, generating 2 TB of information daily, equivalent to the space needed to record all 238 episodes of Friends. This data increase parallels the growth of the Big Data market, which, according to Statista, will reach $103 billion by 2027. The growth of the market and the data generated by all research projects will create a significant job opportunity for data scientists in this sector.
Big Data is the science dedicated to the massive processing and handling of data. Due to the large volume of data (petabytes and exabytes from thousands of different sources) and its continuous growth, it is processed using specific technologies and methodologies such as Hadoop. The field of astronomy and astrophysics collects millions of data daily from telescopes, parabolic antennas, and satellites probing space for various information. The Pan-STARRS telescope in Hawaii alone has generated 1.6 million gigabytes (equivalent to 30,000 times the information contained in Wikipedia). All this knowledge requires Big Data methodologies for analysis and generating conclusions that can help advance research in this field. Therefore, entities dedicated to astronomical research will need personnel specialized in data analysis and comprehension.
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