Interested in a data analytics career?
From the algorithms that shape your online shopping, to organizations making big business decisions, to highlighting systemic inequalities, data analytics play a huge part in our everyday life!
Data has been included in LinkedIn’s annual Emerging Jobs Reports for three years running, and shows no signs of slowing down: according to their 2020 U.S. Emerging Jobs Report, "data roles, specifically data scientist and data engineer roles, are increasing steadily — reflecting about a 35% average annual growth for both roles." The Harvard Business Review even deemed data scientist as “the sexiest job of the 21st century”!
Ready to dig into data, but not sure where to start? There’s a lot of overlap in data jobs and their skill sets, so it’s helpful to explore different job titles and see each of their unique areas of focus.
Here’s a list of popular data job titles, what they mean, and the average salary for each according to Glassdoor:
1. Data Analyst
A data analyst is in charge of gathering, organizing, and analyzing data to answer questions and identify key trends. What stories do the numbers tell? Often a data analyst will use data visualization tools such as Excel spreadsheets and SQL to create graphs and charts that present their findings. These insights may inform important business decisions.
Data Analyst average salary: $60,000
2. Data Scientist
A data scientist has the same skill sets as a data analyst, in addition to a higher level of expertise with data science tools such as SQL, Tableau, and Python. A data analyst uses data to tell us what happened, while a data scientist uses data to predict what will happen. A data scientist will solve problems and help companies optimize their performance using methods such as feature engineering, predictive modelling, and machine learning.
Data Scientist average salary: $85,000
3. Data Architect
A data architect is in charge of conceptualizing, designing, and implementing data frameworks to be built out by a data engineer. This may involve visualizing systems, models, and exploring other solutions related to the architecture of data.
Data Architect average salary: $103,000
4. Data Engineer
A data engineer develops and maintains the data framework designed by the data architect. Using programming languages such as Python, Java, and R, a data engineer must build an optimized data pipeline, and maintain a stable infrastructure for an organization's data. They’re also in charge of preparing data to be delivered in different formats for analysis by data analysts and/or data scientists.
Data Engineer average salary: $85,000
5. Database Administrator
A database administrator (DBA) oversees the storage, organization, and data integrity of an organization’s data by using special software to back up, maintain, and protect systems. Banks, universities, insurance companies, and hospitals are common places a DBA can work at. DBAs may choose to further specialize in different DBA fields, such as systems, development, and application.
Database Administrator average salary: $80,000
Looking to learn data analytics?
Our beginner-friendly Data Analytics course will teach you the basics, fast. You'll learn to make data-driven decisions at work, optimize your workflows, and better understand your customers with in-demand tools and languages like Google Sheets, SQL, and Tableau. See what you'll learn and build below: