Data scientist jobs are often said to be the IT Industry’s highest paying jobs. And this is not applicable for a specific country or region. All over the world, data scientists are taken to be the holders of coveted job posts that not only bring them the fattest pay packets and several other perks, but accord them with a high degree or reverence as well. Even those who are in the rungs lower than the data scientists make more than peers in other professions. Perhaps that’s why data science salary could act as a driving factor for those looking to make a career switch and enter the field. Even for freshers searching for the proper career path or those looking to take up new courses in data science and its related aspects to equip themselves with the requisite skills that are needed to make a mark in the domain of data science, enviable data science salary levels often seem to be the factor that attracts them the most.
Before we dive deeper to understand and decode the mystery surrounding data science salary, let’s take a look at what makes you a good professional in the field. Remember – if you don’t feel attracted to or excited about data; miss the skills, patience or experience of pondering over piles of data to find useful insights; or can’t act as a data sleuth to get information from seemingly innocuous data where others can’t see or find any, you should reconsider stepping into this field.
After all, the mere lure of high levels of data science salary won’t carry you much farther in the field. You can go to a certain distance for sure, but if you aren’t motivated by the beauty of the field itself, your drive will die soon and you may reach nowhere after having wasted a significant amount of time, effort and money on a subject that you didn’t love or feel excited about.
1- What makes you a good professional in the field of data science?
Though the field of data science offers various positions at different levels, let’s stick to data scientists and find the three key skills one should have to excel in it.
1.1- Analytical mindset
Data preparation takes almost 70% of a data scientist’s time. From data cleaning and munging to preparing data so that it becomes fit for machine learning algorithms to be applied to it, a data scientist needs to and should be comfortable in handling huge data sets. So, possessing an analytical mindset with a strong statistical background is a must. Additionally, you should be strong in specific programming languages like R or Python, and have good knowledge of data structures as well as machine learning algorithms.
1.2- Sound domain knowledge
Before you even start dreaming of high data science salary, you should ensure to have sound domain knowledge. From the skills to understand business problems and select the most apt data science model to address them, to having an eye for the detail, and the ability to interpret the findings and arrive at the final result, you need to excel in many aspects. Apart from sound domain knowledge, you also need to have good communication skills to convey your findings in a lucid language to the wider audience.
1.3- Programming and statistical skills
Apart from being adept in programming languages like Python and R, you should also have sound knowledge of mathematics, statistics, and algorithms. But just having these skills isn’t enough. You should ideally apply your knowledge to solve real-world problems. This would need you to be not only strong with the basic concepts, but also have the ability to use the technology tools to your advantage to create great models.
The key is to learn the basics right and then build on them by applying the acquired knowledge to practical problems while understanding and overcoming the practical difficulties that you’ve to face.
Now that you have a fair share of knowledge about what makes one a good data scientist, let’s take a look at what probably interests you the most – high levels of data science salary. We’ve considered three different regions across the world (the US, the UK, and India) to find where they stand with respect to data science salary. We’ve used information from Glassdoor, PayScale, Indeed, and some additional resources for the purpose.
1.3.1- The scenario in the US
According to Glassdoor, the average base pay for a data scientist in United States stands at $117,345, but PayScale puts the figure at $92,521. Glassdoor also reveals the additional cash compensation (that includes commission, cash bonus, tips, and profit sharing) to be $11,530 on an average, while the range of such compensation is between $3,933 and $26,784.
In case you feel interested in knowing which companies occupy the top positions with respect to lucrative data science salary they pay to their data scientists, the following (the average base salary in USD) will give you an idea of what’s like to work for the reputed companies:
- Facebook – pays $135,000 per year
- Twitter – pays $134,061 per year
- Apple – pays $130,000 per year
- Airbnb – pays $130,000 per year
- Google – pays $127,000 per year
- Uber – pays $121,500 per year
- Microsoft – pays $120,000 per year
- Amazon – pays $119,979 per year
- LinkedIn – pays $119,800 per year
- Oracle – pays $110,000 per year
If you want to know more about the salaries for some related job titles, here’s what you need to know (these are the average base pay that the following jobs offer):
- Senior Data Scientist: $137K per year
- Quantitative Analyst: $116K per year
- Data Analyst – $67K per year
1.3.2- The scenario in the UK
The average base pay for a data scientist in the United Kingdom stands at £45,000 according to Glassdoor. PayScale puts the figure at £40,547, while Indeed says it’s £62,143 per year in London, which is 12% above the national average. According to Adzuna, an average data scientist earns £66,441 per year in London. Adzuna further adds that thus figure is 16.4% over the average national salary for data scientist jobs. When compared to the average salary across London, the average data science salary in London that a data scientist gets is 59.3% more.
Glassdoor didn’t reveal anything about additional cash compensation but according to it, here are some companies that pay a lucrative data science salary to their data scientists (the figures below show the average base salary in GBP):
- Barclays – pays £52,150 per year
- Capgemini – pays £50,000 per year
- Dunnhumby – pays £44,000 per year
According to PayScale, the top five companies for hiring data scientists are
- McKinsey & Company
- PwC
- Deliveroo
- Deloitte
- Bloomberg
According to Indeed, here’s what the top companies pay in terms of data science salary to their data scientists:
- Braintree Limited – pays £99,517 per year
- OHO Group– pays £68,445 per year
- Harnham – pays £65,355 per year
- Kortx Ltd – pays £120,000 per year
- Client Server – pays £62,555 per year
- X4 Group – pays £70,356 per year
- Networking People (UK) Limited – pays £72,565 per year
If you want to know more about the salaries for some related job titles, here’s what you need to know (these are the average base pay that the following jobs offer):
- Data Analyst: £30K per year
- Quantitative Analyst – £65K per year
1.3.3- The scenario in India
The average base pay for a data scientist in India stands at ₹650,000 according to Glassdoor. PayScale puts the average data science salary (for a data scientist, IT) at ₹634,645, while Indeed says it’s ₹708,076 per year.
Glassdoor didn’t reveal anything about additional cash compensation but it lists a handful of companies that pay a lucrative data science salary to their data scientists (the figures below show the average base salary in INR):
- Mu Sigma – pays ₹497,500 per year
- Tata Consultancy Services – pays ₹757,500 per year
- IBM – pays ₹1,350,000 per year
According to Indeed, here’s what the top companies pay in terms of data science salary to their data scientists:
- Future Focus Infotech– pays ₹14,63,789 per year
- 2COMS Consulting Pvt. Ltd – pays ₹13,50,526 per year
- Crescendo Global – pays ₹12,71,853 per year
- Okda Solutions – pays ₹14,32,256 per year
In case you’re interested in knowing more about the salaries offered by some related job titles, here’s a glimpse for you to ponder upon (these are the average base pay that the following jobs offer, as per Glassdoor):
- Data Analyst: ₹405K per year
- Quantitative Analyst – ₹708K per year
Final thoughts
Perhaps you now have a better idea about the data science salary structure that’s prevalent in companies across the world. You should remember that apart from your qualifications and experience, how much value you bring to the company too would play a big role in the level of data science salary you’re offered.
So, step into this field if its elements really interest you and not just because you’re chasing a fat pay packet. As we’ve said before, a high level of data science salary alone won’t take you a long way ahead unless you’re driven from the inside by pure love and interest in the field.
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To learn more about data science, click here and read our another article
