Data Scientists vs Database Administrators
Database Administrators earns $6,530 more at the middle. Every figure is US government data you can check.
| Data Scientists | Database Administrators | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in the middle median annual wage, May 2025 | $120,230 | $126,760 |
| Pay range 10th to 90th percentile | $67,240 to $199,130 | not published to not published |
| Years of school you pay for our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure | 4 | 4 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree |
| Jobs opening up each year | 24,800 | 7,300 |
| Growth by 2035 | 34.6% | 4.4% |
| People doing it now | 275,600 | 144,500 |
| Where the pay is highest and lowest state medians, not adjusted for cost of living or taxes | $163,350 in Washington down to $69,490 in Mississippi | $135,750 in Utah down to $70,500 in Maine |
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Jobs that use what you already know
Same skills, same knowledge, same daily tasks. Most of these are not on this site.
Database Administrators covers 3 separate job codes. “3 of 3” means 3 of those 3 name that job as closely related.
Data Scientists
- Statisticians
- Statistical Assistants
- Financial Quantitative Analysts
- Operations Research Analysts
- Bioinformatics Scientists
- Bioinformatics Technicians
What these usually take: Usually a four-year degree, plus a few years of experience.
Database Administrators
- Computer Systems Analysts3 of 3
- Software Developers3 of 3
- Computer Systems Engineers/Architects3 of 3
- Network and Computer Systems Administrators2 of 3
- Blockchain Engineers2 of 3
- Data Scientists2 of 3
What these usually take: Usually a four-year degree, plus a few years of experience.
O*NET 30.3 Database, U.S. Department of Labor. These are jobs that use similar skills, knowledge and daily tasks. It is a measure of how alike two jobs are — not a record of people moving between them.
Jobs that take more training than this one
A job zone is the U.S. Department of Labor’s published measure of how much preparation a job takes. It says nothing about pay.
- StatisticiansGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- Financial Quantitative AnalystsGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- Operations Research AnalystsGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- Bioinformatics ScientistsGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- MathematiciansGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- Computer and Information Research ScientistsGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- BiostatisticiansGraduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
O*NET 30.3 Database and O*NET Job Zones, U.S. Department of Labor. A job zone is a published measure of how much preparation an occupation takes, not a measure of pay or of whether a job is better. Pay differences are BLS median annual wages, May 2025, and are shown only where both jobs are on this site.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment and wage data, May 2025, and employment projections 2025-35. Years of school is our own estimate from published entry requirements, not a BLS figure. State medians are not adjusted for cost of living or taxes, and that difference could be large either way. No advice, just data.