Growing Demand for Data Scientists Driving Up Salaries

April 17, 2014 – Data scientists, the elusive kingpins in the Big Data movement, can earn base salaries well over $200,000, are younger, overwhelmingly male, have at least a master’s degree and probably a Ph.D., and one in three are foreign born, according to the first-ever study looking at salaries, education levels, gender and geographical location of this new profession. Almost half of all data scientists are on the U.S. West Coast working for technology and gaming companies. “Data scientists are an elite breed, a true four-leaf clover of talent, capable of merging and structuring huge amounts of data from various sources,” said Linda Burtch, managing partner of Burtch Works, the executive search firm which conducted the study. “It is only in recent years that data storage has become sufficiently inexpensive that many firms have begun to save enormous sets of unstructured data, and many firms have begun to employ data scientists. Businesses will need to use unique strategies to find and keep the talent necessary to truly tap the potential of Big Data.” While there is no available number of employed data scientists, it is estimated that only 4,000 to 6,000 individuals are filling this role in the country. The study of 171 data scientists was conducted by Burtch Works, an Evanston, Ill.-based executive recruiting firm which specializes in the placement of quantitative business professionals.

Linda Burtch will lead a webinar on the study findings on April 17 at 11 a.m. CDT. Interested participants can register at: https://cc.readytalk.com/r/oajz4v303tex&eom