Data Scientist vs Software Developer: Which Field Is Better?

Dimension	Data Scientist	Software Developer
Median pay	$112,590	$133,080
Projected growth (2024–34)	33.5%	15.8%
Annual openings	23,400	115,200
2024 employment	245,900	1,693,800
2034 projected employment	328,300	1,961,400
Self-employed share	1.8%	1.6%
Typical entry education	Bachelor's degree	Bachelor's degree
Related work experience	None	None
On-the-job training	None	None

Dimension

Data Scientist

Software Developer

Median pay

$112,590

$133,080

Projected growth (2024–34)

33.5%

15.8%

Annual openings

23,400

115,200

2024 employment

245,900

1,693,800

2034 projected employment

328,300

1,961,400

Self-employed share

1.8%

1.6%

Typical entry education

Bachelor's degree

Related work experience

None

On-the-job training

None

Data Scientist: main tradeoff

One of the fastest-growing occupations, but the work is converging with AI tooling and advanced analytics, making skill depth more important than the title alone.

Software Developer: main tradeoff

Strong long-term economics, but entry-level work is being reshaped faster than the occupation overall.

Which should you choose?

Software Developer has the higher national median pay in the BLS data. Data Scientist has the higher projected 2024–2034 growth rate. The larger decision is whether you prefer the training path, work style, and occupation-specific tradeoffs of Data Scientist or Software Developer.