Data Scientist
Salary, job outlook, education and requirements
Develop and implement a set of techniques or analytics applications to transform raw data into meaningful information using data-oriented programming languages and visualization software. Apply data mining, data modeling, natural language processing, and machine learning to extract and analyze information from large structured and unstructured datasets. Visualize, interpret, and report data findings. May create dynamic data reports.
O*NET-SOC 15-2051.00 (Data Scientists)
Data Scientist salary
Wages for data scientists across all employers, 2025 data. The 10th percentile is typical entry-level pay; the 90th percentile reflects the most experienced and highest-paid workers.
National median hourly wage: $57.80.
Data Scientist pay by state
Ten largest states by population, annual wages.
| State | 10th percentile | Median | 90th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | $77,480 | $141,590 | $224,920 |
| Texas | $64,540 | $122,090 | $170,780 |
| Florida | $63,080 | $115,820 | $174,140 |
| New York | $73,330 | $130,460 | $214,080 |
| Pennsylvania | $63,340 | $106,850 | $162,290 |
| Illinois | $68,810 | $106,560 | $168,880 |
| Ohio | $61,710 | $102,630 | $160,650 |
| Georgia | $67,750 | $104,340 | $170,010 |
| North Carolina | $65,970 | $119,090 | $172,830 |
| Michigan | $60,830 | $100,590 | $162,670 |
Data Scientist job outlook
- Employment is projected to go from 275,600 jobs in 2025 to 371,000 in 2035 (35% change).
- About 24,800 openings are projected each year, including jobs that open up as workers retire or change occupations.
- CareerOneStop outlook rating: Bright (Rapid Growth).
How to become a data scientist
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- Work experience
- No work experience
- On-the-job training
- No on-the-job training
Education level of current workers
- Less than high school diploma.5%
- High school diploma or equivalent2.8%
- Some college, no degree6.4%
- Associate's degree4%
- Bachelor's degree38.9%
- Master's degree35.5%
- Doctoral or professional degree11.8%
Related training programs
- Applied Mathematics, General
- Applied Mathematics, Other
- Applied Statistics, General
- Artificial Intelligence
- Bioinformatics
- Biomathematics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology, Other
- Business Analytics
- Business Statistics
- Cheminformatics/Chemistry Informatics
- Computational Biology
- Computational Mathematics
- Computational Science
What does a data scientist do?
Common tasks
- Create graphs, charts, or other visualizations to convey the results of data analysis using specialized software.
- Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software.
- Test, validate, and reformulate models to ensure accurate prediction of outcomes of interest.
- Deliver oral or written presentations of the results of mathematical modeling and data analysis to management or other end users.
- Recommend data-driven solutions to key stakeholders.
- Identify business problems or management objectives that can be addressed through data analysis.
- Clean and manipulate raw data using statistical software.
- Compare models using statistical performance metrics, such as loss functions or proportion of explained variance.
- Identify solutions to business problems, such as budgeting, staffing, and marketing decisions, using the results of data analysis.
- Apply feature selection algorithms to models predicting outcomes of interest, such as sales, attrition, and healthcare use.
Most important skills
- Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
- Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
- Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Programming
- Writing computer programs.
- Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Speaking
- Talking to others.
- Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Data Scientist certifications
8 of 18 certifications CareerOneStop maps to this occupation. Requirements vary by employer and state.
- Pearson · Core
- Information Security - Lead Auditor (ISO/IEC 42001-LA)TRECCERT · Core
- Texas Finance Association · Core
- Google Inc. · Product/Equipment · In demand
- Google Inc. · Product/Equipment · In demand
- Cognilytica (Project Management Institute) · Product/Equipment
- Trane · Product/Equipment
- Data Analytics 1 (C-311)Smart Automation Certification Alliance · Product/Equipment
See all 18certifications in CareerOneStop's Certification Finder
Data Scientist jobs
Current federal openings from USAJOBS. For more economics & statistics jobs, including private-sector listings, see the Economics & Statistics jobs hub.
Job data from USAJOBS.gov. Careers.org is not affiliated with or endorsed by OPM.
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This page includes information from CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (DOLETA), and the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
Source: CareerOneStop occupation profile for Data Scientists. Wages are from the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program; projections are national long-term projections.