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The role of a data scientist has become one of the most sought-after and lucrative positions in the tech industry. However, data scientist salary varies significantly depending on the employer, industry, geographic location, and the individual's skill set.
Established firms, especially internet giants like Google, Facebook, and Amazon, offer more generous wage packages, typically exceeding ₹30 lakhs per year.
In contrast, professionals in similar roles within startups or smaller organizations may earn approximately ₹10–15 lakhs per year. This article explores the salary landscape for data scientists across different types of companies and the factors influencing these variations.
Established tech firms are known for their competitive compensation packages, which include high base salaries, bonuses, and stock options.
These companies can afford to offer higher salaries due to their strong financial positions and market dominance. For instance, data scientists at Google can expect to earn well over ₹30 lakhs per year, with attractive salary packages that include generous bonuses and stock options.
Similarly, Facebook provides data scientists with lucrative compensation packages, often exceeding ₹35 lakhs per year, including base salary, bonuses, and equity.
Amazon's data scientists earn around ₹30-35 lakhs per year, with additional benefits such as stock options and performance bonuses. These tech giants not only offer high salaries but also provide extensive benefits, including health insurance, retirement plans, and professional development opportunities.
Startups, particularly in the tech and data sectors, also hire data scientists but typically offer lower base salaries compared to tech giants. However, they often provide compensatory benefits such as stock options and flexibility in work arrangements.
Data scientists in early-stage startups may earn between ₹10-15 lakhs per year. While the base data scientist salary is lower, the potential for equity growth can be significant if the startup succeeds. As startups grow and secure more funding, they can offer higher salaries, ranging from ₹15-20 lakhs per year.
These companies often provide additional perks such as flexible working hours, remote work options, and opportunities for rapid career advancement. The dynamic environment of startups can also offer data scientists the chance to take on diverse roles and responsibilities, contributing to their professional growth.
Mid-sized and smaller companies also employ data scientists, with different data scientist salary based on companies and location. Mid-sized tech companies typically offer salaries in the range of ₹20-25 lakhs per year.
While these salaries may not match the compensation levels of tech giants, they often provide a balanced mix of salary, benefits, and work-life balance. Data scientists working in non-tech industries, such as finance, healthcare, and retail, can expect to earn around ₹15-20 lakhs per year.
While the base salary might be lower, these industries may offer other incentives such as stability, structured career progression, and sector-specific benefits. Additionally, smaller businesses may offer compensatory benefits such as stock options or flexibility in work arrangements to attract and retain talent.
The following examples provide specific salary data for data scientist roles in various companies, highlighting the diversity in compensation based on company size, industry, and required experience.
At Gifusion Tech, data scientists with 0-5 years of experience can earn between ₹5-15 lakhs per year in the IT Services & Consulting industry. Wipro Limited in Hyderabad offers data scientists with 1 year of experience a monthly salary ranging from ₹25,000 to ₹35,000.
Adobe in Bangalore provides a salary range of ₹15-30 lakhs per year for data scientists in the Software and IT industry. Indianmoney offers remote data scientist roles with a monthly salary of ₹50,000 for individuals with 1 year of experience in the Investment & Asset Management industry.
GuiRes Solutions Pvt Ltd offers freshers a monthly salary of ₹20,000 for data scientist roles in the Research & Analytics Organization industry. Brillio in Bangalore offers a salary range of ₹9-10 lakhs per year for data scientists with 4-6 years of experience in the Information Technology Support Services industry.
Several key factors influence the data scientist salary across different companies. Industry is a significant factor, with tech companies generally offering higher salaries compared to non-tech industries due to their reliance on data-driven decision-making and their ability to generate substantial revenue from data insights.
Another important factor that I have included is the geographical location, as it also has a significant impact on the salaries offered. Again, data scientists across Silicon Valley, the US, IT Cities of India, or Bangalore, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and the like earn better than those in mid-tier cities or towns or regions having low tech-firms concentrations.
The other factor is the skill set of the individual aspiring to be a part of the board of directors. Professionals with specialized training are paid more, and jobs that require skills in data science, machine learning, deep learning, and big data technologies are well paid. Data scientists with more educational background like Masters or PhD or who have accreditation in these fields can bargain for better salaries.
Another factor that defines the salary level is experience. This means although the entry-level data scientist can be paid less, within a few years they can have a handsome hike in his salary because of the person’s contribution towards the company.
Data scientists’ salaries also vary greatly due to the specificity of the field and the nature of work in different organizations.
Though big companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon provide the highest compensations, startups and emerging companies offer flexibility, stretch goals, and a chance at stock options.
Some of the factors include; industry, geographic location, skill level, and experience were considered as key determinants of salary levels. Knowing these dynamics, with the growing demand for data scientists , will help individuals to make sound career decisions and earn better compensations.
