DATA SCIENTIST

Discover the skills, day-to-day responsibilities, and required qualifications to become a data scientist in Australia. Explore statistics on salary potential, weekly hours, and the biggest regions or industries for employment.

Overview

Data scientists are responsible for gathering data sets and assessing them for any apparent trends or patterns. Analytical conclusions or actionable insights are then extracted for this information – which are then used to help bolster business decisions.

Using the tools at their disposal, typical everyday tasks may include collecting large sets of both structured or unstructured data; assessing and organising the data to ensure accuracy and “completeness”; analysing and interpreting the data to pinpoint solutions and issues regarding their organisation; and communicating this information to stakeholders.

Employment for data scientists is expected to grow quite strongly in the coming years – with a 12.9% projected increase in employment by 2025.

Key Skills

  • Sharp analytical skills – required to accurately examine and interpret a variety of data sets
  • Ability to craft actionable solutions when issues or problems are displayed through the data
  • Excellent communication skills for disclosing data analysis with stakeholders
  • Strong mathematical abilities
  • Experience and skills in programming (i.e. Python, SQL, and SAS)– may be required to build algorithms or systems for mining big sets of data
  • Excellent organisational skills for cleaning and systematically arranging raw data

Quick Facts

Data scientists can find work across Australia, with New South Wales and Victoria currently holding the largest share of employment. Weekly salary potential is much higher than the all-jobs average, with plenty of opportunity for full-time work.

Salary Range

$63,000 – $130,000 (Median: $94,000)*

Average Weekly Hours

42 hours (vs. all jobs average of 44 hours)*

Main Industries

Financial and Insurance Services; Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; and Education and Training

Most Common Qualification Level

45.4% hold a Postgraduate or Graduate Diploma

STUDY PATHWAYS

Getting the skills you need is simple by studying one of our information technology courses below.

*Sources: payscale.com.au and joboutlook.gov.au – All information is to be used as a guide only, and are accurate at the time of publication.