Michael Koploy wrote 3 Secrets for Aspiring Data Scientists about what it takes to enter a career as a data scientist. He lays out 3 steps:

  1. Sharpen Your Scientific Saw – Hone your math and science skills
  2. Learn the Language of Business – Data Scientists need to explain the data in business terms
  3. Keep Adding to Your Technical Toolbelt – Learn all the tools you can (NoSQL, Excel, Hadoop,…)

The article is a nice read. http://blog.softwareadvice.com/articles/bi/3-career-secrets-for-data-scientists-1101712/