What Meaningful Careers Exist In Data Science?

What meaningful careers exist in data science (stats/ML/optimization)? originally appeared on Quora: the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world. What meaningful careers exist in data science (stats/ML/optimization)? This is a great question, coming from academia myself, I can relate to it. It really depends on what you personally find meaningful, and what your goals are. Would you be happiest doing cutting edge machine learning that impacts millions of people?