Working in Data Science and want to know your market value? Or are you a hiring manager who wants to keep your offers competitive? Burtch Works compiles salary data to create comprehensive salary reports, with complete demographics and hiring market insights. View an overview of our findings in this deck, and visit burtchworks.com/study to download the full report for free!

1. The Burtch
Works Study
Salaries of Data Scientists
2017

2. 4th Annual Data Science
Salary Study
Compensation & demographic data
Base salaries, plus bonuses
Job category
Industry & region
Residency status
Education & gender

3. In this deck
Defining and identifying data scientists
Demographic profile
Salary changes and trends
Other noteworthy findings
Searching for data scientists

4. Defining & Identifying
Data Scientists

5. Data Science vs. Predictive Analytics
Predictive Analytics Professionals
Analyze data to glean insights
and prescribe action
Quantitative skills
Structured data
Data Scientists
Analyze data to glean insights
and prescribe action
Quantitative skills
Unstructured, streaming data
Computer science/coding
© 2017 Burtch Works LLC

6. Many Data Scientists
have formal training
Master’s or Ph.D. in
Mathematics or Statistics
Computer Science
Engineering
Operations Research
Economics
Data Science
Experience in non-traditional programs
Bootcamps
MOOCs

7. Data Scientists
use a variety
of tools
R
SQL
Python
Java
Hive
Pig
Hadoop
Spark
TensorFlow
AWS
D3.js

8. Data Scientists don’t include
Software Developers
Predictive Modelers
Traditional MBA’s
Business Intelligence
Information Technology

9. Profiles matched to job categories
Individual Contributors
Level 1: 1-3 years of experience
early career professional
Level 2: 4-8 years
hands on, more advanced
Level 3: 9+ years
analytics subject matter expert
Managers
Level 1: 1-3 direct reports
tactical manager
Level 2: 4-9 direct reports
leads a function
Level 3: 10+ direct reports
executive leader, sets strategy
© 2017 Burtch Works LLC

10. Demographic Profile

11. Data Scientists are young
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20 21-25 26+
Years of Experience
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

12. Data Scientists are highly
educated
Ph.D.
41%
Bachelor's
10%
Master's
49%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

13. 0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
Bachelor's Master's Ph.D.
DataScientists
PredictiveAnalyticsPros
Among Data Scientists, a
higher prevalence of PhD’s
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

14. 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Business
Economics
Social Science
Natural Science
Computer Science
Engineering
Math/Statistics
Most study Math/Statistics,
Engineering, or Computer Science
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

15. Many US Data Scientists
are foreign born
U.S. Citizen
64%
Other
3%
F-1/OPT
5%
H-1B
8%
Perm.
Resident
20%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

16. Nearly half of early-career US
Data Scientists foreign born
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
IC-1
IC-2
IC-3
U.S. Citizen H-1B
F-1/OPT
Perm. Res. Other
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

17. 40%
8% 15%
8%
28%
West
Coast
Mountain Midwest
Northeast
Southeast
Most Data Scientists are on the coasts
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

18. Tech still employs the largest
number of Data Scientists
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Gaming
Academia or Gov't
Retail & CPG
Healthcare/Pharma
Corporate-Other
Consulting
Marketing Services
Financial Services
Technology
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

19. 15% of Data Scientists
are female
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

20. 4% of executive leaders
are female
20% of early-career Data Scientists
are female
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

21. Compensation
of Data Scientists

22. Data Scientist salaries are leveling off
Individual Contributors
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000
IC-1
IC-2
IC-3
2017
2016
+3%
+1%
-2%
$157,000
$126,000
$95,000
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

23. 4-Year Salary Trend:
Individual Contributors
Level 2014 2015 2016 2017
IC-1 $80,000 +14% +7% -2%
IC-2 $120,000 +4% +0% +1%
IC-3 $150,000 +0% +1% +3%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

24. Data Scientist salaries are leveling off
Managers
$0 $50,000 $100,000 $150,000 $200,000 $250,000
MG-1
MG-2
MG-3
2017
2016
+4%
+0%
+6%
$190k
$148.8k
$250k
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

25. Level 2014 2015 2016 2017
MG-1 $140,000 +0% +0% +6%
MG-2 $183,000 +1% +3% +0%
MG-3 $232,500 +7% -4% +4%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC
4-Year Salary Trend:
Managers

26. Data Scientist salaries continue to
exceed others in analytics
$0
$50,000
$100,000
$150,000
$200,000
$250,000
IC-1 IC-2 IC-3 MG-1 MG-2 MG-3
DataScience
PredictiveAnalytics
+27%
+33%
+24% +14%
+9%
+11%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

27. Section/addl
findings
Additional
Findings

28. Master’s continue to
encroach on PhD’s
PhD, 43%
PhD, 28%
PhD, 25%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
2015
2016
2017 Master’s, 64%
Master’s, 59%
Master’s, 48%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

29. Data Scientists with a
PhD outearn Master’s
$0
$20,000
$40,000
$60,000
$80,000
$100,000
$120,000
$140,000
$160,000
$180,000
IC-1 IC-2 IC-3
Master’s
PhD
+11%
+7%
+6%
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

30. $168K
West
Coast
Middle U.S.
Northeast
Coastal Data Scientists earn higher salaries
Level 3 Individual Contributors
$155K
$160K
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

31. Tech & Gaming pay
higher salaries
$0
$20,000
$40,000
$60,000
$80,000
$100,000
$120,000
$140,000
$160,000
$180,000
$200,000
Other
Industries
Tech/
Gaming
Level 2 Managers
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

32. Recap/Demographics
of Data Scientists
41% hold PhD’s, 49% hold a Master’s
68% work/live on the coasts
41% employed by tech companies
36% foreign-born
15% female
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

33. Recap/Compensation
of Data Scientists
Base salaries shifted only by single digits
Data scientists outearn others in analytics
Highest salaries paid on the coasts
Tech/gaming data scientists earn more
PhD’s earn higher salaries
Data © 2017 Burtch Works LLC

34. Additional data is available
in our full report
burtchworks.com/study
35+ pages
Demographics
Compensation
Year-Over-Year Trends
Qualitative Insights
Quartiles/Means

35. Searching for
Data Scientists

36. Data
Evangelist
If you’re hiring a leader, look
for someone with the ability
to influence leadership

37. Transfer/sponsor
visas for access
to the biggest
talent pool

38. Talent availability is still limited, so
you may need to trim your wish list

39. Does your organizational
structure value data science?

40. Data Scientists have many options,
so sell your opportunity

41. Provide access to the latest
tools & technology

42. About
Burtch Works
Leading resource for
analytics, data science, and
marketing research talent
Download our salary reports
burtchworks.com/study
30+ pages of data for:
Predictive Analytics
Data Science
Marketing Research

43. Contingency &
Retained Services
Entry Data Science up to
Chief Data Scientist
info@burtchworks.com
Hiring Data Scientists?

44. Download the full report:
www.burtchworks.com/study

45. Visit burtchworks.com/blog for more insights
• Career advice
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46. Follow Burtch Works on social media to stay
updated on our latest research.

47. Explore new roles or
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