Your article seems to be written from a phd-centric, low-industry-experience perspective. I'd reconsider this bias if it's real, finding good data scientists is hard and you may be eliminating good potential candidates.
I've been what you could call a data scientist for over five years now, and worked with dozens of people you could also call data scientists with different degrees and varying experience. From my sample, I don't think PhDs add much, if any, value over masters degrees after a year or two of experience (I'm biased here, I don't have a PhD). I think industry experience can add a tremendous amount of value you can't get from a degree, but it comes at a cost premium. Not related to your article: I've also found the best people have physics or computer science + applied math backgrounds.
I've been what you could call a data scientist for over five years now, and worked with dozens of people you could also call data scientists with different degrees and varying experience. From my sample, I don't think PhDs add much, if any, value over masters degrees after a year or two of experience (I'm biased here, I don't have a PhD). I think industry experience can add a tremendous amount of value you can't get from a degree, but it comes at a cost premium. Not related to your article: I've also found the best people have physics or computer science + applied math backgrounds.