Technology
Will AI replace data scientists?
BLS places data scientists in its “Very high” AI-exposure category (of four, relative to other occupations). BLS projects employment to grow 34.6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 24,800 openings a year. OEWS May 2025 median pay is $120,230 (10th–90th percentile $67,240–$199,130). Typical entry education: bachelor's degree.
Sources: BLS AI exposure categories and Employment Projections 2025–35 (released 27 August 2026); BLS OEWS May 2025; tasks from O*NET 31.0 (CC BY 4.0).
Figures are for the BLS occupation Data scientists (SOC 15-2051).
Data scientists frame questions, build statistical and machine-learning models, and put the results in front of decision makers.
The figures, with their sources
| AI-exposure category | Very high (of Low, Moderate, High, Very high)BLS AI exposure categories, 2025–35 |
|---|---|
| Employment, 2025 → 2035 | 275,600 → 371,000BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
| Projected change, 2025–35 | +34.6%BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
| Openings per year (2025–35 average) | 24,800BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
| Median annual pay | $120,230BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| 10th–90th percentile pay | $67,240 – $199,130BLS OEWS, May 2025 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degreeBLS Employment Projections 2025–35 |
National figures, all industries and all experience levels. Employment and openings are published by BLS in thousands; pay is annual, in US dollars.
What BLS says, in its own words
“Very high” relative AI exposure generally indicates that, compared to other occupations, a larger fraction of an occupation’s tasks can be completed or assisted by AI technology, and that LLMs have been observed performing some of the occupation’s tasks.
“An exposure category is not a forecast of employment growth or decline.” “Exposure does not imply job loss, productivity gains, automation probability, or wage effects.”
“Demand change - share increases as larger amounts of digital and electronic data are collected over the projections decade. Businesses in all industries will hire data scientists to analyze data to help improve business processes and design and develop new products.”
Our count from the BLS table: 141 of the 206 occupations in the “Very high” category are projected to grow from 2025 to 2035. That is our arithmetic on BLS data, not a BLS statement.
What the work is: O*NET® tasks
The occupation’s core tasks, most important first, as O*NET 31.0 words them.
- 1.Generate standard or custom reports summarizing business, financial, or economic data for review by executives, managers, clients, and other stakeholders.
- 2.Design and validate clinical databases, including designing or testing logic checks.
- 3.Process clinical data, including receipt, entry, verification, or filing of information.
- 4.Maintain or update business intelligence tools, databases, dashboards, systems, or methods.
- 5.Analyze, manipulate, or process large sets of data using statistical software.
- 6.Create graphs, charts, or other visualizations to convey the results of data analysis using specialized software.
- 7.Generate data queries, based on validation checks or errors and omissions identified during data entry, to resolve identified problems.Judgment
- 8.Develop project-specific data management plans that address areas such as coding, reporting, or transfer of data, database locks, and work flow processes.Accountability
How we tag: a task is tagged Judgment, Accountability or Relationships when O*NET’s wording uses one of these verbs. Judgment: evaluate, assess, determine, decide, interpret, diagnose, recommend, investigate, approve, prioritize, resolve. Accountability: direct, supervise, manage, oversee, ensure, plan, establish, authorize, comply. Relationships: confer, consult, negotiate, advise, collaborate, liaise, mentor, train, counsel, persuade, interview, present, meet with. This is our reading of the task text, not an O*NET or BLS classification, and it is not a measure of AI exposure.
For new graduates
- Typical entry education
- Bachelor's degree
- BLS Employment Projections 2025–35
- Openings per year
- 24,800
- All levels, not entry-level only
The tasks to show proof for: 2 of 8 are about judgment, accountability or relationships
We point you at these because our method treats them as the work that is hardest to hand to AI. That is our judgment, not a BLS or O*NET finding. A capstone, an internship or a part-time job where you made the call, owned the outcome or worked with the people involved is proof. Write what you did, not what you were assigned.
Show the 2 tasks
- Generate data queries, based on validation checks or errors and omissions identified during data entry, to resolve identified problems.
- Develop project-specific data management plans that address areas such as coding, reporting, or transfer of data, database locks, and work flow processes.
What this data does not tell you
- How many openings are entry-level, or how many go to new graduates. BLS counts openings at every level.
- How AI will change hiring for junior roles in this occupation. The exposure category is about the occupation’s tasks, and BLS says it is not a forecast.
- Pay or openings in your city or industry. These are national figures.
- Whether your own tasks match these. O*NET describes the occupation, not your job.
BLS also publishes the work experience and on-the-job training usually needed; see the BLS projections table.
Proof worth finding for a Data Scientist application
Our editorial starting list, not a survey of postings. The posting you apply to decides what counts.
- Production model deployment with documented scale and business outcome metrics
- Business problem framing and stakeholder communication to non-technical audiences
- Advanced statistical modeling with measurable revenue, cost, or risk outcomes
- Python or R proficiency with ML frameworks (scikit-learn, TensorFlow, or PyTorch)
- Data engineering fundamentals including pipelines, feature stores, or SQL at scale
Show your proof for one real posting
- Step 1Job Match · 5 tokensPaste a real posting. For each requirement, we quote the line in your resume that proves it, or say nothing was found.
- Step 2Resume · 15 tokensRewrite toward that posting from your own words. Any number we could not find in them is listed for you to check.
- Step 3Know your tasks · FreeYour own tasks against the data scientists data above, labeled task by task.
Related role guides
Technology guideSame BLS occupation: Data Analyst, Junior Data Scientist, Machine Learning Engineer, Business Intelligence Analyst, Healthcare Data Analyst.
- Product Marketing ManagerProduct marketing managers position a product for its market: launches, competitive analysis, messaging and the material sales teams use.
- Software EngineerSoftware engineers design, build, test and maintain software, from a single feature to the systems many teams depend on.
- Data AnalystData analysts turn business questions into queries, charts and recommendations that someone can act on.
Questions people ask
Will AI replace data scientists?
The data does not say so. BLS places data scientists in its “Very high” relative AI-exposure category and states that “An exposure category is not a forecast of employment growth or decline.” In BLS’s words: “Very high” relative AI exposure generally indicates that, compared to other occupations, a larger fraction of an occupation’s tasks can be completed or assisted by AI technology, and that LLMs have been observed performing some of the occupation’s tasks. BLS projects employment to grow 34.6% from 2025 to 2035 (BLS Employment Projections 2025–35). By our count from the BLS table, 141 of the 206 occupations in the “Very high” category are projected to grow.
How many data scientists jobs open each year?
BLS projects about 24,800 openings a year for data scientists, averaged over 2025–35. BLS defines openings as net employment change plus workers permanently leaving the occupation, so a declining occupation can still have openings. Employment was 275,600 in 2025.
How much do data scientists earn?
BLS OEWS (May 2025) puts the national median annual wage for data scientists at $120,230. The 10th percentile is $67,240, the 25th $85,660, the 75th $158,880 and the 90th $199,130. These are all industries and all experience levels in the United States; pay in your city and at your level will differ.
What education do data scientists need?
BLS lists “Bachelor's degree” as the typical education needed to enter data scientists. It is the typical path, not a rule: postings set their own requirements.
How does AISkillScore check a Data Scientist application?
We count, we do not guess. Job Match reads the posting’s requirements and, for each one, quotes the line in your resume that proves it, or says nothing was found. The resume rewrite keeps your claims and lists any number it could not find in your own words so you can check it before you send.
Sources
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Artificial Intelligence (AI) exposure categories; Occupational projections, 2025–35, and worker characteristics; Employment Projections definitions; Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025: Data scientists. BLS data is in the public domain.
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0 · Data scientists on O*NET OnLine. Changes: we show up to eight of the occupation’s core tasks, most important first, merged across the O*NET codes BLS groups into one occupation, and we add our own task tags.
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