US Market Salary
US EstimateSource: Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) & US Job Market Estimate 2026
DNA Career Insights
With a median annual salary of $119,600/year, a career as a Data Scientists offers a competitive financial return compared to average vocational baselines in the United States. In terms of professional alignment, this role matches strongly with the Investigative interest category. Success in this field typically requires individuals who thrive on analytical research, logical problem solving, and intellectual inquiry, allowing them to effectively perform day-to-day duties.
Navigating entry into this field requires educational preparation aligned with Considerable Preparation Needed (Job Zone 4). For candidates who cultivate the requisite skill profiles, this pathway remains a stable, long-term option in the changing United States job market.
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Job Requirements Profile
Key abilities, skills, and activities necessary to perform successfully in this role.
Daily Occupational Tasks
- Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software.
- Apply feature selection algorithms to models predicting outcomes of interest, such as sales, attrition, and healthcare use.
- Apply sampling techniques to determine groups to be surveyed or use complete enumeration methods.
- Clean and manipulate raw data using statistical software.
- Compare models using statistical performance metrics, such as loss functions or proportion of explained variance.
- Create graphs, charts, or other visualizations to convey the results of data analysis using specialized software.
- Deliver oral or written presentations of the results of mathematical modeling and data analysis to management or other end users.
- Design surveys, opinion polls, or other instruments to collect data.
- Identify business problems or management objectives that can be addressed through data analysis.
- Identify relationships and trends or any factors that could affect the results of research.
- Identify solutions to business problems, such as budgeting, staffing, and marketing decisions, using the results of data analysis.
- Propose solutions in engineering, the sciences, and other fields using mathematical theories and techniques.
- Read scientific articles, conference papers, or other sources of research to identify emerging analytic trends and technologies.
- Recommend data-driven solutions to key stakeholders.
- Test, validate, and reformulate models to ensure accurate prediction of outcomes of interest.
- Write new functions or applications in programming languages to conduct analyses.
Pros & Cons of This Profession
✓ Advantages & Pros
- High Salary Potential: Median annual wage is $119,600/year, placing it in a premium income tier.
- Intellectual Engagement: Ideal for analytical minds that love solving challenging problems.
✗ Challenges & Cons
- High Academic Investment: Requires a Job Zone 4 rating, often necessitating advanced degrees or long training.
- Precision Demands: Requires zero tolerance for operational or logging errors.
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Data Citation & Provenance
Verify InfoThis profile compiles primary career data from the O*NET 28.1 Database (sponsored by the US Department of Labor/Employment and Training Administration) and wage datasets from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program. You can verify licensing and O*NET compliance details on our O*NET License & Attribution Page.