December 01, 2021

Are you an aspiring data scientist? If so, you probably have questions about how much data scientists make. Data scientist salaries are on the rise. There are now more data scientists than ever before, and they're in high demand across industries. So, If you want to be a data scientist, it is important that you understand how much they earn.

A data scientist salary can vary depending on where they work and what their specialty is. In this blog post, we will discuss the average data scientist's salary, as well as what factors affect their pay rate.

What Is the Average Salary of a Data Scientist in the UK?

The average salary for a data scientist in the UK is £50,728. Data scientists with more experience tend to make higher salaries. Their salaries can vary depending on their location, industry, and level of expertise. There are some data scientists who make more than £100,000.

In the UK alone there are currently around 231% data scientist jobs available and demand is increasing rapidly. This means that a lot of companies need to hire people with the skillset required for this job role. Here's an overview of the UK data scientist salary according to their level of expertise:

• Entry Level Data Scientist Salary: The average yearly salary of an entry-level Data Scientist is £37,637. 

• Mid-Level Data Scientist Salary: The average data scientist salary for those who have been in the field for a few years or to be considered as a mid-level data scientist is £49,316.

• Senior Data Scientist Salary: The average data scientist salary for those who have been in the data science industry for over 10 years is £65,522. It's notable that data scientists who have more experience tend to make higher salaries. 

Companies typically look for data scientists with a Master's degree, which means they can expect to make more than £45,000 upon graduation.

Factors That Influence a Data Scientist Salary

There are several factors that affect data scientists' salaries. Including: 

Location

Data scientists can expect to make higher salaries in London than in any other part of the UK. To illustrate, data scientists in London earn on average £60,876 per year while data scientists who work outside of this city generally earn less than £45,000.

Experience

Experience is one of the most influential factors in data scientists' salaries. An entry level data scientist salary can expect to be lesser than a senior data scientist salary as they tend to have more experience. Furthermore, data scientists can earn more by specializing in certain data science skills.

For example, data scientist salaries for data engineering specialization are on average £65,000 while data scientist salaries for data visualization sit at around £60,000.

Education

Data science is a fairly new industry and as such there aren't many universities that have degrees related to data science. So if you have a master's degree or a Ph.D. in data science, you can expect to earn more in this industry.

Company Size

It is common for data scientists to earn more when they work at large companies. Also, large companies are able to offer data scientists more opportunities for growth than small startups.

Industry

Data scientists who work in the financial and pharmaceutical industries earn higher salaries than data scientists who work in other industries such as retail. For data scientist jobs, data scientists with expertise in big data analytics, machine learning, or data engineering can expect to earn more than data scientists with expertise in data visualization.

These are some of the factors that affect data scientists' salaries. There are data scientists who make much more than the average data scientist salary, but don't expect data science to be your ticket for an extremely high-paying job right away. There is a significant amount of competition in this field, which means data scientists typically need to put in a lot of hard work and effort.

Data Scientist Job Prospects

The data science field is growing rapidly, which means data scientist job prospects are very bright. The data science job market is growing at 16% every year, which is much faster than average.

There are data scientists who earn less than data scientists who earn more, but data science is a field where you have the potential to have a secure and stable career.

Is a Data Scientist Career a Good Fit for You?

A data scientist is a desirable job, but it requires analytical thinking and an interest in numbers to advance your career. If you think you may be suited for a data scientist position, consider the following questions to ask yourself if you're thinking about working in the field:

• Are you a science and math person?

• Do you enjoy data analysis?

• Can you communicate data science concepts in plain language so data scientists and non-data scientists can understand them?

• Do you like working with people?

• Do you like to solve real-world problems with data science methods?

If you answered yes to most of the questions, data scientist as a career may be a good fit for you. However, the path to data scientist can be a long and winding one, so to ace the recruitment process, data scientist candidates need to stand out from the crowd.

How To Stand Out as a Data Scientist Candidate?

Recruitmently believes that data scientists need a combination of data science skills and soft skills. So we compiled these tips to help data science candidates stand out from the crowd:

Be Data Science-Savvy

Data scientists need data science skills to work with data and create data-driven insights. Data science is not just about crunching data; it's also about explaining data and building data products and even working in a team setting.

If you want to be a data scientist, make sure you're proficient in data analysis using statistical methods such as visual data analysis, machine learning to create data products.

Be Technical, but not too Technical

It is important for data scientists to have data science skills, but they also need other skills that are related to soft skills. Data scientists need people skills to work with data teams and non-data scientists. Data analysis skills are not enough. 

It is important to know data modeling and data architecture so that you can communicate with data architects who design data pipelines that store, integrate, and transform data.

One way to see if you have the right mix of technicality and soft skills is to provide examples of situations where you successfully integrated data science products into the business world. 

For example, data scientists who manage data on their team or data products that solve real-world problems for companies can use these experiences to prove they possess the right data scientist mix of data science and soft skills.

Showcase Your Data Visualization Skills

One of the data science skills you should highlight in your data scientist resume is data visualization skills. Data visualization skills are used to communicate data science insights and data products, so data scientists need to be able to make data visualizations that present ideas in a clear manner.

Data Visualization Skills Examples

Here are a few examples of data visualization skills demonstrated in data scientists' resumes:

• Built data visualizations that helped data scientists and data product team members to communicate data science thoughts and ideas.

• Created data visualizations for non-technical users in the company to help them understand the results of data analysis so they can make informed decisions.

• Constructed data visualization dashboards to analyze data at a glance with information such as data gaps and data trends.

These data visualization examples show data scientists' data visualization skills across a range of data products and projects. Being able to show how you've applied your data visualization skills in the past will help recruiters see that you have what it takes to be a data scientist candidate.

Here at Recruitmently, we will connect you to our expert and experienced coaches in the field of data science and data analytics to guide you in your job search journey. Our coaches can provide you with career coaching, interview tips, resume building tips and guide you throughout your job search.

Takeaway

The data science industry is growing, and so are the data scientist jobs. This is why it's important for candidates to show they have what it takes to be a part of this expanding industry. You can utilize your data science skills to show recruiters that you have the right qualifications for a job as a data scientist.

Recruitmently expert recruiters have worked with companies across the globe to find data science candidates who can fit into their unique company culture. Our team of experienced coaches will help you prepare for the recruitment process and give you interview tips to ace your next data scientist interview.

Book your one-on-one coaching session today!