Technology
Data Scientist
Data scientists use statistics, programming, and machine learning to turn raw data into decisions and products. The role sits between engineering, math, and business communication.
Median salary
$119,000
Typical range
$80k – $190k
Job outlook
+35% (much faster than average)
AI exposure
Plan a path to Data Scientist
Education
Typical entry: Master's degree
Master's is common; strong portfolios can substitute for some roles.
Plan my path to this →Typical progression
Data Scientist Intern
Internship
$40,000
~4 mos to advance
Junior Data Scientist
Entry / Junior
$80,000
~2 yrs to advance
Data Scientist
Established
$119,000
~3 yrs to advance
Senior Data Scientist
Senior
$154,500
Internships are a common on-ramp here — they speed up landing that first role and improve your odds, which is why the Safe and High-ceiling plans build one in.
Key skills
A typical day
- •Clean and analyze data
- •Build and validate models
- •Present findings to stakeholders
Fields of study
Data Science · Statistics · Computer Science · Mathematics
Top colleges for Technology
Explore all- Massachusetts Institute of Technology4% admit · $124,000 grad pay
- Stanford University4% admit · $122,000 grad pay
- Carnegie Mellon University11% admit · $109,000 grad pay
- University of California, Berkeley11% admit · $97,000 grad pay
- Georgia Institute of Technology16% admit · $99,000 grad pay
Reputation-based selection; stats shown are outcome data per school.
Related careers
Other careers from this field of study
Mapped by field-of-study code (Data Science, Statistics, Computer Science, Mathematics), not by job-title guessing.