Glassdoor recently published their “Best Jobs in America” for 2019 and it was no surprise that data scientists topped the list for the fourth year in a row. Almost every industry utilizes data in some form to build a more efficient business model, and that trend does not seem to be slowing down.

With the rise of big data comes an increase of concern over data privacy. It’s no surprise that apps such as Facebook and Google, monitor your search histories and offer you advertisements based on content you’ve explored on the internet. While the companies who observe your search habits want you to think it’s just a coincidence, a majority of society has smartened up, taking matters into their own hands by limiting the amount of private data that a company can obtain.

In last week’s article we discussed five diverse characters in television and film that didn’t necessarily fit Hollywood’s stereotype of what a data scientist looks and acts like. While many hacker and data analyst roles are portrayed by white actors and actresses who are nerdy and/or computer geniuses that’s not the case in everyday society. The data industry is made up of men and women of all different races, ethnicities, and sexualities, so today we are continuing to celebrate characters that don’t fit Hollywood’s typical mold.

Data scientists and programmers come in all different shapes, sizes, races, and genders. But if that’s true, why hasn’t Hollywood caught on yet? I don’t know about you but I’m sick of seeing programmers depicted as the twenty-something shy, nerdy guy whose a recluse or the quirky chick who can only be described as eccentric.