Headline risk
5%
Low RiskData scientists
AI displacement pressure score for United States AI Work Index, combining global AI task overlap with local wages, employment trends, and demand signals.
Why This Score
Share of job tasks that overlap with current AI capabilities
Median annual wage
Projected employment change over 10 years
Typical preparation needed for this occupation
Occupation profile
Develop and implement a set of techniques or analytics applications to transform raw data into meaningful information using data-oriented programming languages and visualization software. Apply data mining, data modeling, natural language processing, and machine learning to extract and analyze information from large structured and unstructured datasets. Visualize, interpret, and report data findings. May create dynamic data reports.
Task evidence
100% weighted task match · 41% effective coverage
Scores combine AI task overlap, human advantages, and local demand. How it works
United States Now
Median Wage
USD 112,590
Employment 2024
245.9K
Projected Change (2024–34)
33.5%
Openings (2024–34)
23.4K
Wage distribution
Demand outlook
Employment of data scientists is projected to grow 34 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Role Profile
Tasks
- 1. Generate standard or custom reports summarizing business, financial, or economic data for review by executives, managers, clients, and other stakeholders. AI use: 93%
- 2. Design and validate clinical databases, including designing or testing logic checks. AI use: 0%
- 3. Process clinical data, including receipt, entry, verification, or filing of information. AI use: 100%
- 4. Maintain or update business intelligence tools, databases, dashboards, systems, or methods. AI use: 100%
- 5. Manage timely flow of business intelligence information to users. AI use: 0%
- 6. Generate data queries, based on validation checks or errors and omissions identified during data entry, to resolve identified problems. AI use: 0%
Technologies
Requirements
Work context
Worker profile
Median age 41.2 · 102K employed
Under 25: 1% · 25–54: 77% · 55+: 23%
Related
No direct US role match is available yet for this occupation.
Source coverage
11/11 source families · O*NET 30.2 / OEWS 2024 / ORS 2025 / OOH 2025-08-28 / Projections 2024-34 / CPS 2025 / Anthropic task penetration
Data quality
Employment data available
Narrative & sources
Data scientists use analytical tools and techniques to extract meaningful insights from data.
Data scientists spend much of their time in an office setting. Most work full time.
Data scientists typically need at least a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a related field to enter the occupation. Some employers require or prefer that applicants have a master’s or doctoral degree.
The median annual wage for data scientists was $112,590 in May 2024.
Employment of data scientists is projected to grow 34 percent from 2024 to 2034, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Important context
This score measures structural AI displacement pressure, not actual job losses. Local wages and demand data are specific to United States AI Work Index; the underlying AI task overlap analysis is consistent across all countries.