Technology and Mathematics · Career brief

Data Scientist

Is it a good career to pursue?

The 30-second read

Data Scientist at a glance

Six signals to look at before you spend time on the full guide.

1Pay

$120,230

High national median pay

2025 national median. Top 10% for pay among careers on ChooseField.

2Demand

34.6%

Very fast projected growth

Projected employment growth for 2025–2035. Top 10% for growth among careers on ChooseField.

3Openings

24,800

Lots of annual openings

Average openings per year in 2025–2035, including replacement hiring. Top quarter for openings among careers on ChooseField.

4Route in

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor's degree is typically expected

Bachelor's degree. Prior related work is not typically required.

5The work

Analytical

Problem-solving and analysis dominate the profile

Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software.

6The catch

Know this first

What could make this a poor fit

Unknown: review standing, lifting, repetitive movement, and posture with a practitioner. No overall physical-demand rating is assigned.

ChooseField take

The strongest national signals are pay, growth, and opening volume; each ranks in the top quarter of ChooseField careers. It makes the most sense if analytical work appeals to you and you are comfortable with a bachelor's-degree path. Main tradeoff: Unknown: review standing, lifting, repetitive movement, and posture with a practitioner. No overall physical-demand rating is assigned.

Before choosing, compare:Software Developer Cybersecurity Analyst Computer Systems Analyst

National labor-market measures: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. Work-profile signals: O*NET. See sources and caveats.

Compare Data Scientist with another field Explore rankings in Technology and Mathematics Open shareable infographic

Want the evidence behind the snapshot?

Market and path

Pay, outlook, and the route in

National median pay (2025)

$120,230

A midpoint for workers nationwide, not a starting salary.

2025–2035 outlook

34.6%employment growth24,800openings per year

Openings include replacement hiring, not only newly created jobs.

Typical entry route

Bachelor's degree

BLS reports the usual education, related experience, and on-the-job training, not a guaranteed minimum for every employer.

2025 employment

275,600

Estimated workers in this occupation across the United States.

Source: BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 occupational projections ↗ · Data scientists (15-2051).

Actual responsibilities

What you would be trusted to own

Selected O*NET task statements, not a list of traits that applies to almost every career.

Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software.
Apply feature selection algorithms to models predicting outcomes of interest, such as sales, attrition, and healthcare use.
Compare models using statistical performance metrics, such as loss functions or proportion of explained variance.
Design surveys, opinion polls, or other instruments to collect data.

Work profile

Work styles that help

O*NET impact scores. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Intellectual Curiosity3.0
Attention to Detail3.0
Innovation2.4
Dependability2.4
Achievement Orientation2.1

Interest profile

Career interests

O*NET interest scores describe work someone may enjoy, not personality requirements. Bars are relative to the highest score shown within this chart.

Relative mix of the interest scores below, not percentages of your workday.

Investigative7.0
Conventional5.4
Artistic2.6
Realistic2.2
Enterprising1.7
Social1.7

Preparation

What the training must make you competent at

Software and tools named in job postings

R PyTorch Git C++ SAS Apache Spark

Before choosing the major or training

Run a cheaper test first

Build one small working project from a blank file, then diagnose and fix at least one failure without copying a finished answer.
Ask an early-career worker which beginner task consumes the most time, what makes new hires quit, and what school or training failed to simulate.

The fuller career guide

How the evidence fits together

The tradeoff that matters most

The growth rate is exceptional, but rapid growth does not automatically mean easy entry. The grounded conclusion here is that the occupation is expanding quickly; the available evidence does not establish that every data-science specialty or entry-level segment is equally strong.

Common questions

Questions people ask about this career

Is data science a good career?

Consider this field if its core work interests you: 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. Try an introductory project, class, or permitted observation before committing to training. Compare the actual cost and required experience with entry-level work available where you plan to live.

Is data science oversaturated?

The evidence does not establish a single national saturation verdict for Data Scientist. Hiring varies by location, specialty, and experience. Compare entry-level postings with their required credentials and experience, and ask recent entrants about hiring outcomes. Long-term projections cannot tell you how many qualified applicants compete for a particular job.

Will AI replace data scientists?

The evidence here does not establish how many data-science jobs AI will replace. Ask which tools automate parts of framing a question, cleaning data, testing models, and explaining results, and what a new analyst must validate independently. Evaluate a specific team's work rather than a prediction about the job title.

Data science vs software engineering

Consider Data Scientist if you want to 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. Consider Software Developer if you would rather research, design, and develop computer and network software or specialized utility programs. Compare a sample task and the qualification requirements for each before choosing between them.

Adjacent options

Compare before committing

The useful question is not whether one field wins overall, but what changes when you choose a nearby path. Explore the full career guides for Software Developer, Cybersecurity Analyst, Computer Systems Analyst, Operations Research Analysts.