5 Skills Data Scientists Need to Get Hired and Earn More

For students and professionals looking to launch a career in data science, there’s no shortage of lucrative opportunities. According to McKinsey research, wages for data scientists grew 14 percent over a recent two-year period, eight times faster than the average U.S. wage growth. In fact, the same McKinsey report speculates the U.S. data scientist shortage will reach the staggering height of 250,000 open positions by 2024. 

Data science professionals currently earn an average annual wage of $100,000, and some earn more than $300,000 annually. What’s the difference between these “average” and “above-average” earners in the data science field? As it turns out, it’s tech skills. Research by O’Reilly reveals that data scientists using 15 or more tools (five more tools than average) earn $30,000 more than their peers. Which means a solid technical tool kit is among the most important things data scientists can have in their arsenal.

To help inform your continuing education, we’ve curated a list of the top data science skills and education. We also share some insights on how demand for these skills will be trending in the months to come.

In order for your analytics to drive value for your employer, you have to be able to understand the insights. High-quality visualization can transform complex manipulations into real, actionable information that executive teams can use to make business decisions. In fact, data visualization is among the most sought-after skills in STEM today. 

Tech recruiter Linda Burtch has experienced the spike in demand for individuals who can translate insights into visuals, stating, “It’s so critical because a lot of quantitative candidates … forget that they’re answering business problems.” So, developing familiarity with multiple tools for visualization is a smart move for job candidates.

Various NoSQL technologies are at the top of the skills shortage, with one of the most popular open source databases currently sitting at the second most highly paid technical skill. A recent report by DataStax revealed that highly qualified job candidates with skills in “Hadoop, MongoDB, SQL Server and Oracle” could also benefit from more knowledge of NoSQL options.

In case you’re concerned the NoSQL craze has hit its peak, it almost certainly hasn’t. Information Age reports the technology is just hitting the mainstream. In many use cases, document and graph-based data storage technologies are increasingly the most effective way to manage fast-moving streams of data from mobile technology and other connected devices.

“Familiarity with data storage is at the top of the desired skills” for today’s data scientists, according to CrowdFlower CEO Lukas Biewald. Along with NoSQL, individuals with skills in Hadoop and the Java used to power this storage technology are going to face minimal competition for well-paid job openings.