Career Paths

Career Paths

Are you curious about what you can do with a degree in Data Science? One of the things that make data science so exciting is that it has a wide variety of applications in an ever-growing number of fields. For example, the collection, analysis, and visualization of increasingly large amounts of data are changing the very nature of business and research. The emergence of huge data sets are fundamentally altering the way that scientists are conducting research in every discipline including biology, chemistry, physics, and social science to name a few. Engineers and scientists are collecting vast quantities of data through low cost sensors, "smart" machines, and highly instrumented engineering systems.  

Data Science is only one career path that would be open to you after completing your MS in Data Science degree. Foremost is the Data Science position itself - consistently the highest paid of all data-oriented roles. But there is a lot of confusion in the market around the various roles that exist. Here is a breakdown of some of the major roles in the data realm. There is a world of opportunity just waiting for you!

DATA SCIENTIST

Role	Designs and develops advanced analytic models Uses data oriented programming languages to develop custom solutions and capabilities Produces professional reports and dynamic graphics to elucidate key findings Presents analytic insights and recommendations to senior management.
National Average Salary	$118,709
Skills	Statistics and linear algebra Data wrangling Predictive modeling Machine learning Time series analysis Dynamic visualization Analytic storytelling
Languages	Python R SQL NoSQL D3
Who's Hiring	Google Microsoft Adobe IBM eBay Apple PayPal NVIDIA Intel Cisco Systems

DATA ANALYST

Role	Gathers and cleanses data ready for analysis Uses statistical packages and solutions developed by data scientists to perform data analysis
National Average Salary	$62,379
Skills	Statistics Data wrangling Spreadsheet tools Time series analysis Visualization Statistical packages
Languages	Python R SQL NoSQL HTML Javascript
Who's Hiring	Apple Cisco Systems Paypal Roku McAfee eBay Lumileds Saama Technologies

Other roles and their national average salary:

• Data Analytics Manager ($116,725)
• Data Architect ($100,118)
• Data Engineer ($95,936)
• Statistician ($75,069)
• Business Analytics ($65,991)

*All quoted estimated salaries are from Glassdoor.