Senior Data Scientist
What Does a Professional in this Career Do?
Utilizes skills and experience to systematically answer questions using data to provide actionable recommendations. Commonly utilizes advanced statistical analysis and machine learning techniques. Common responsibilities also include data cleaning and data management. Able to work and lead on data science projects independently. May involve management of other members of the data science team.
Job Outlook
There were 534 Senior Data Scientist job postings in North Carolina in the past year and 18855 in the United States.
In combination with other careers in the Data Scientist industry, which includes the Senior Data Scientist career, the following graph shows the number of people employed for each year since 2012:
Salary
Many new Senior Data Scientist jobs have salaries estimated to be in the following ranges, based on the requirements and responsibilities listed in job postings from the past year.
National
The average estimated salary in the United States for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $121,770.
State
The average estimated salary in North Carolina for this career, based on job postings in the past year, is $119,681.
Percentiles represent the percentage that is lower than the value. For example, 25% of estimated salaries for Senior Data Scientist postings in the United States in the past year were lower than $107,711.
Education and Experience
Posted Senior Data Scientist jobs typically require the following level of education. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list education requirements.
| Education Level | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Associate's Degree | 0% |
| Bachelor's Degree | 22% |
| Master's Degree | 72% |
| Doctoral Degree | 6% |
| Other | 0% |
Posted Senior Data Scientist jobs typically require the following number of years of experience. The numbers below are based on job postings in the United States from the past year. Not all job postings list experience requirements.
| Years of Experience | Percentage |
|---|---|
| 0 to 2 years | 10% |
| 3 to 5 years | 61% |
| 6 to 8 years | 20% |
| 9+ years | 9% |
Skills
Below are listings of the most common general and specialized skills Senior Data Scientist positions expect applicants to have as well as the most common skills that distinguish individuals from their peers. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is also listed.
Baseline Skills
A skill that is required across a broad range of occupations, including this one.
- Research (45%)
- Communication Skills (40%)
- Teamwork / Collaboration (37%)
- Problem Solving (24%)
- Creativity (16%)
Defining Skills
A core skill for this occupation, it occurs frequently in job postings.
- Data Science (100%)
- Python (81%)
- Machine Learning (71%)
- SQL (60%)
- Predictive Models (29%)
Necessary Skills
A skill that is requested frequently in this occupation but isn’t specific to it.
- SAS (19%)
- Economics (19%)
- Experiments (18%)
- Apache Hadoop (18%)
- Statistics (18%)
Distinguishing Skills
A skill that may distinguish a subset of the occupation.
- Keras (7%)
- NumPy (6%)
- Computer Vision (6%)
- Big Data Analytics (5%)
- MATLAB (5%)
Salary Boosting Skills
A professional who wishes to excel in this career path may consider developing the following highly valued skills. The percentage of job postings that specifically mention each skill is listed along with the marginal value: the average salary difference between postings that request that skill and those that do not.
- Stochastic Processes (1%) – marginal value $22,762
Alternative Job Titles
Sometimes employers post jobs with Senior Data Scientist skills but a different job title. Some common alternative job titles include:
- Lead Data Scientist
- Principal Data Scientist
- Data Scientist II
- Senior Data Scientist Remote
Similar Occupations
If you are interested in exploring occupations with similar skills, you may want to research the following job titles. Note that we only list occupations that have at least one corresponding NC State Online and Distance Education program.
- Data Scientist
- Data Engineer
- Data Analyst (General)
- Computer Scientist / Researcher
- Statistician
- Senior Data Analyst
- Data Analyst (Marketing)
Common Employers
Here are the employers that have posted the most Senior Data Scientist jobs in the past year along with how many they have posted.
United States
- Humana (1204)
- Travelers (410)
- Amazon (296)
- National Grid (264)
- Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. (248)
North Carolina
- Humana (38)
- Lowe's Companies, Inc (31)
- Bank of America (15)
- Shopify (11)
- Relx (10)
NC State Programs Relevant to this Career
If you are interested in preparing for a career in this field, the following NC State Online and Distance Education programs offer a great place to start!
- Applied Statistics and Data Management Graduate Certificates
- Data Science Foundations Graduate Certificates
- Geographic Information Systems Graduate Certificates
- Geospatial Information Science and Technology Master's Degrees
- Mathematics Graduate Certificates
- Statistics Master's Degrees
All wages, job posting statistics, employment trend projections, and information about skill desirability on this page represents historical data and does not guarantee future conditions. Data is provided by and downloaded regularly from Lightcast. For more information about how Lightcast gathers data and what it represents, see Lightcast Data: Basic Overview on Lightcast's Knowledge Base website.