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Median pay
$112,590
Median annual pay for Data Scientist.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · 2024
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.
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.
The measurable baseline is $112,590 median pay, 33.5% projected employment change from 2024 to 2034, and about 23,400 annual openings. Those figures establish the national baseline; the occupation-specific evidence on this page is what makes the decision more useful than a generic profile.
The national median-pay figure in the current ChooseField dataset is $112,590. The 2024 self-employed share is 1.8%, which matters because self-employment can make outcomes less uniform across workers. A national median is a benchmark, not a personal forecast: experience, geography, employer type, specialty, credentials, and hours can move actual compensation materially.
BLS data in the ChooseField corpus put 2024 employment at 245,900 and projected 2034 employment at 328,300. That corresponds to 33.5% projected growth over the decade. BLS projects about 23,400 openings per year, including growth and replacement demand. This distinction matters when people ask whether a field is oversaturated: growth measures whether the occupation itself is getting larger, while annual openings also reflect people retiring, changing occupations, or leaving roles that must be refilled.
BLS lists the typical entry education as Bachelor's degree. Treat this entry path like an investment: compare the time and cost required to enter with the pay, annual openings, and alternatives available at a similar training level.
Among the fastest-growing careers. The headline figure is 33.5%. BLS projected employment growth from 2024 to 2034. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2024–2034).
The current corpus does not contain a credible occupation-specific probability that AI will replace this field. It does contain a BLS outlook of 33.5% from 2024 to 2034 and about 23,400 projected annual openings. Those figures do not prove AI safety; they simply show that the official labor-market projection still anticipates ongoing employment and replacement demand.
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 current corpus does not establish that every data-science specialty or entry-level segment is equally strong.
This field is a stronger fit if you are willing to keep skills current as tools change and you are comfortable separating long-run demand from the difficulty of landing the first role.
Before choosing Data Scientist, compare it with Software Developer, Cybersecurity Analyst, Computer Systems Analyst. The purpose is not to find a universal winner; it is to see how pay, training time, annual openings, work setting, and field-specific risks change when you move to an adjacent option.
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. The measurable baseline is $112,590 median pay, 33.5% projected 2024–34 employment change, about 23,400 annual openings, and a typical entry path of Bachelor's degree.
BLS projects 33.5% employment change from 2024 to 2034 and about 23,400 openings per year. Growth and openings are different signals, so the field-specific evidence on this page should also be considered.
The current corpus does not contain a credible occupation-specific probability that AI will replace this field. It does contain a BLS outlook of 33.5% from 2024 to 2034 and about 23,400 projected annual openings. Those figures do not prove AI safety; they simply show that the official labor-market projection still anticipates ongoing employment and replacement demand.
Compare Data Scientist with Software Developer, Cybersecurity Analyst on pay, training time, openings, working conditions, and occupation-specific evidence rather than relying on one score.
National pay and employment projections come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Other sources are linked on their cards.