State of the Data Science Job Market
Here at Smith Hanley we continue to be bullish on data science and analytics recruiting in 2023. Despite what you might have read about a possible economic downturn next year, we are still seeing strong demand for this type of talent. In an informal survey of clients, we hear that hiring will continue to be robust for at least the next 12 months.
According to a recent Emeritus.org article, the most in-demand job in 2023 will be Data Scientist. Coming in second, Machine Learning Engineer, also is predicted to have very strong hiring. Market Analyst jobs are expected to be the fourth most in-demand job. Principal skills needed for all of these roles will continue to be Python, R and SQL. Strong experience in statistics, building predictive models and performing a variety of analyses on large datasets are also required. Excellent communication skills and the ability to provide strategic recommendations to stakeholders is a must have as well
Data Science Salary Disconnect
While salaries in 2022 remained consistent with 2021, there was a large gap between candidate salary expectations and employer’s budgets and salary bands for these roles. We have often found candidates seeking a premium for their in-demand skill set while salaries being offered by firms have not been raised to the same level. This makes hiring top talent candidates in the Data Science space to be very difficult. Many companies are seeking the Data Scientist, Data Analyst, Data Engineer as well as strategic leader all in one role while offering a base salary of $140,000 – 150,000. The candidates that possess all of these skills and who are also willing to perform all of these tasks in one position are more in the $250,000 base salary range. While there is a very high demand for Data Science professionals and a limited supply of strong talent, companies may need to increase base salaries to attract great hires.
One exception to this disconnect between candidate’s salary expectations and company offers in 2022 was in the financial and tech sectors. However, their strong compensation packages are now being negatively impacted by the downturn in the tech industry. Financial Services may be even more competitive as higher interest rates are working in their favor.
2023 Salaries
Senior Analyst – $100,000 – $120,000
Analytics Manager – $120,000 – $140,000
Director of Analytics – $140,000 – $170,000
VP of Analytics – $180,000 – 200,000
The surprise to some candidates is that even at the Director level you are required to do hands-on analytics work. The difference as you move up is gaining strong managerial experience and acquiring the ability to effectively present to key stakeholders.
Data Scientist – $80,000 – 200,000
While this is a very wide range for a Data Scientist, to achieve the higher compensation requires very niche in-demand skill sets such as natural language processing, text mining, computer vision or experience in Artificial Intelligence.
Data Engineer – $80,000 – 140,000
Senior Data Engineer – $140,000 – 200,000
Machine Learning Engineer – $ 120,000 – 200,000
Due to the explosive growth of data produced over the last five years, the demand for in-house Data Engineers has grown exponentially. Often times salary ranges can be a bit higher for candidates with this skill set as there is a very low supply of talented Engineers in the Data Science space. Working with less common databases such as Snowflake can increase salary ranges to above Data Science roles in some instances.
Interested in discussing your data science salary or your hiring needs? Contact the Smith Hanley Associates’ Executive Recruiters in Data Science and Analytics, Paul Chatlos and Nancy Darian at pchatlos@smithhanley.com and ndarian@smithhanley.com.
