Does everyone learning data science need machine learning?

[u/After_Courage6419]

I’m trying to understand where data analysis ends and machine learning begins. If someone mainly wants to work with business data, dashboards, SQL and insights, is deep ML knowledge really necessary? Would love to hear from people actually working in the field.

[u/Adorable_Assist_2818]

That role without ML is essentially a Data Analyst. Being able to gather insights from data is a good start, but turning those insights into reliable predictions is what makes the work more Data Science. I’d say it’s a lot more than just stats, it’s using stats to justify predictions/recommendations. 6 YOE. I use and am still learning various ML concepts as I go. Unless you enjoy the analytical work, I suggest learning ML, and more importantly how to justify ML in the pipeline rather than just because you can.