Data Scientists vs Financial Analysts
Data Scientists earns $17,490 more at the middle. Every figure is US government data you can check.
| Data Scientists | Financial Analysts | |
|---|---|---|
| Pay in the middle median annual wage, May 2025 | $120,230 | $102,740 |
| Pay range 10th to 90th percentile | $67,240 to $199,130 | $63,720 to $180,860 |
| 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 | 24,700 |
| Growth by 2035 | 34.6% | 7.2% |
| People doing it now | 275,600 | 377,200 |
| 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 | $187,090 in Wyoming down to $69,030 in West Virginia |
Also compared: Accountants vs Financial Analysts Advertising vs Data Scientists Aerospace Engineers vs Data Scientists Civil Engineers vs Data Scientists Civil Engineers vs Financial Analysts Construction Managers vs Data Scientists
Jobs that use what you already know
Same skills, same knowledge, same daily tasks. Most of these are not on this site.
Financial Analysts covers 2 separate job codes. “2 of 2” means 2 of those 2 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.
Financial Analysts
- Personal Financial Advisors2 of 2
- Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents2 of 2
- Investment Fund Managers2 of 2
- Financial Quantitative Analysts2 of 2
- Credit Analysts2 of 2
- Financial Managers2 of 2
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.
Data Scientists
- 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.
Financial Analysts
- Investment Fund Managers2 of 2Graduate school — a master's, or a doctorate.
- Financial Quantitative Analysts2 of 2Graduate 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.