The documents included in Tools for Building a Big Data Career Path can assist schools looking to design and implement career pathways in big data. These tools have been used by community colleges involved in the NSF-ATE funded Creating Pathways for Big Data Careers (DUE-1501927). They consist of:
1. Building Blocks for a Big Data Career Pathway
This template can be used to present the programs, courses, supporting activities, school and employer linkages that comprise a school’s proposed pathway.
2. Gap Analysis Tool/ Industry Importance
This tool enables local employers to indicate what big data skills they expect their workers to have and the level of proficiency they expect their workers to demonstrate for each of those skills. As presented here, the big data skills listed for analysis are those identified by a panel of big data experts who developed the occupational profile of a Data Practitioner.
3. Gap Analysis Tool/ School Capability
Using this tool, a school’s faculty can identify the extent to which its current course offerings address the same big data skills and the depth to which those skills are addressed. Like the employer tool, this document presents for analysis the big data skills identified in the Data Practitioner profile. By comparing the employer and school analysis tools, faculty can identify “gaps” in their existing program offerings that may require modifications or additions to be made to their curricula. A comparison of the two tools may also reveal skills that currently receive excessive attention in a curriculum when compared to the importance employers place upon them.
4. Employer Support Template
Schools developing a career pathway can use this form in meetings with local employers to determine what kind of support they are willing to provide to a career pathway.