In the recent few years, career opportunities in data have grown exponentially. Companies are looking forward to capturing data and getting insights from it. From managing marketing efforts to improving customer services, data accessibility has helped companies reap multiple benefits. This is also the reason why companies are willing to pay Data Scientists attractive salaries. In fact, India is the second-highest country in the world to recruit Data Science professionals. The demand for data science professionals has been equally competitive in big companies as well as startups. So, if you have the skillset and are willing to keep yourself up-to-date with the latest in the Data Science field, you will be able to make a successful career as a Data Science professional.
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Who is a Data Scientist?
Data Scientists are analytical data experts with the skill set for solving complex data problems. Also, they have a thirst to explore the wide range of issues that must be addressed. These highly-skilled individuals have the best of IT and business. They are part mathematicians, part trend-analyzers, and part computer scientists. The high demand for Data Science professionals has made it one of the most lucrative career options in the country.
What skills should a Data Scientist have?
- Knowledge of statistics, mathematics, algorithms, and machine learning
- Programming languages like Python, R, SQL, Hive, and SAS
- Understanding of the business and an aptitude for framing the right questions and finding answers in the data
- Communication skills to help the rest of the team understand the results of the analysis
What are the different Data Science job roles?
1. Data Scientists
The core of this job is using programming to implement statistics. Python and R are the most popular languages used for this. In India, Python programmers for Data Science are paid better than DevOps programmers and software developers. The reason behind this is that companies need data for gathering information on customers and the market. For this, they need Python programmers who are trained in collecting and processing data using libraries like Pandas and NumPy.
According to PayScale, the average annual salary of a Data Scientist is INR 6,98,413. At entry-level, you can earn about INR 5,50,000 annually. With the experience of 1 to 4 years, you can earn around INR 6,05,552 per annum. As a mid-level data scientist with an experience of 5 to 9 years, you can make INR 9,93,293 per year. Senior-level Data Scientists can earn more than INR 17,47,282 a year.
2. Data Engineers
A Data Engineer is responsible for designing and engineering an infrastructure that will transform data into a format that can be used by Data Scientists. They built scalable pipelines for converting unstructured and semi-structured data into usable formats. Also, they identify meaningful patterns in large volumes of data. Essentially, the job of a Data Engineer is preparing and making raw data useful for operational or analytical uses. Their role is as important as that of a Data Scientist. However, they are not directly connected to the end result of the analysis.
According to PayScale, the average annual salary of a Data Engineer is INR 8,68,951 in India. However, this depends on factors like the size of the company, educational qualifications, geographical location, work experience, and job position. Big players like Amazon, Spotify, IBM, Airbnb, Netflix, Accenture, Capgemini, and Deloitte pay higher compensation.
Also, the salary of a Data Engineer is majorly impacted by work experience. With 1 to 4 years of experience, a Data Engineer’s salary is around INR 7,35,329 per annum. However, at mid-level, with 5 to 9 years of working experience, they can make anywhere around INR 12,35,233 per year. Data Engineers with more than 15 years of experience can easily make more than INR 15,79,282 annually.
3. Data Analyst
These are the professionals responsible for translating numbers, figures, and statistics into English so that everyone can understand. Given the current scenario, the scope for Data Analysts will always be in demand. So, if you have a strong foothold in computer science, statistics, mathematics, or business backgrounds, this can be an excellent career choice for you. For this position, you should know Data Mining and must be fluent in languages like Python and SQL. As a Data Analyst, your job will be extracting relevant insights from datasets and channeling these insights through reports and visualizations.
According to PayScale, a Data Analyst with 1 to 4 years of working experience can have a gross earning of about INR 4,09,209 including bonuses, tips, and overtime pay. A mid-level Data Analyst with 5 to 9 years of working experience can earn about INR 6,36,587 depending on the organization they are working in and the location of the company. As your skills and experience increase to about 10 to 19 years, you can earn a total compensation of about INR 8,52,516 per annum.
The opportunities for Data Science professionals are currently rising exponentially in India. As the businesses generate large volumes of data and the tools for extracting data become readily available, companies are looking for trained and experienced professionals to help them gain insights from the dataset. This has also increased the average salary of Data Science professionals in India.
Conclusion
In the article, we have mentioned the salaries of Data Science professionals. It is important to note that these numbers are not set in stone. Your salary will mostly depend on what skills you have, whether you have become an expert in them, and how quickly you can grow and help the company grow as well. Usually, the employees get about a 15% bump in their salary. However, with an increase in the number of skills you have mastered and the years of experience you have, this percentage will only increase. It doesn’t matter if you are experienced in the Data Science field or have just started it. You can have better earning potential as a driving factor to motivate you.
If you want to learn Data Science and be updated with the latest technological advancements, you can either go for a Masters in Data Science or a certification course.
