Analytics landscape in Dublin (Ireland)

It has been SO long since my last post, but had tons of things to do! I was working on my master thesis, started looking for a job, got a very nice job offer, and had to organize my relocation from Athens (Greece) to Dublin (Ireland).

Having arrived to Dublin a couple of weeks ago, I would like to describe my first impressions about the data analytics jobs here, the companies that hire data scientists and other technology-based professionals, new start-ups etc.

Data analytics jobs

Looking for data-related jobs in Ireland, we must consult some respectful job search sites, such as Indeed, Monster etc. and look for the total number of displayed jobs in order to understand how big the need for Data Scientists (or Data Analysts, Data Architects etc.) is. The following table overviews the total number per site (as from 1/1/2017):

Indeed - 4.038 jobs

Monster - ~1000 jobs

And all these jobs available during the Christmas holidays, when most of the country has taken some time off. Hopefully, more relevant jobs will open within the following weeks for job seekers. But why are there so many data-related jobs in such a small country (less than 5 million people)?

Technology-based companies

Just like the company I got hired, there are many others technology-based companies. This does not mean that they all provide technology solutions, but they exploit technological capabilities to enhance their operations and processes. 

But let's start with the hard-core technology companies. Many of the top companies worldwide have their offices (many of them even their European Headquarters) in Ireland. Such companies are Google (thank you Google for Blogger), Microsoft, Dell, Apple, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Yahoo, Amazon, Kingston, Sandisk, Intel, Adobe to count just a few. So, with so many technology companies there is no doubt that technology jobs would arise.

Similarly, other companies, e.g. from the retail industry, have embraced new technologies to improve their performance. More specifically, regarding the data, many companies use them to create useful dashboards (at least), while many of them have move a step further and proceed with advance data analysis (in-house or outsourced). (Disclaimer: these are some personal observations made during job search. E.g. when non-technology companies look for a Data Scientist (or similar job) then they must have a team which analyzes data at some level). 

Start-ups

Looking for the exact definition of the "start-up" term, I found a slight disagreement. While some believe that start-up is just a newly found company, many others insist that it is the culture of the company. Despite what we choose to believe, it is a fact that most of the successful start-up companies are based on technology-enhanced solutions / business models (in a future post I will elaborate more on the start-up term).

But what about start-ups in Ireland? Looking for the start-up scene in this country, I found a very interesting website that summarizes very nicely the 'Map of the Irish Start-up Sector' (literally on a map!). This website is called StartUp Ireland and shows that such a small country has 980 start-ups, 69 incubators, 70 funding organizations etc. Moreover, Ireland supports tax relief for new entrepreneurs and thus provides further motivation for entrepreneurship incentives.

Conclusion

Apart from the beauty of the country, Ireland is a tech country and Dublin is a tech town, a lovely city to begin and advance your career in the data sector (most probably in all technology-based jobs). Hope to see more of you here someday! :) 

Just before ending this post let me share an interesting fact about this beautiful country!

Emerald Isle is the poetic name for Ireland due to its green countryside, first referred to in print by William Drennan in his poem "When Erin first rose".

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