Side by side

Data Engineer vs Data Scientist

Data Scientist pays more: a median of $153,500 against $140,500. There is 2.4× more demand for Data Engineer. Data Scientist is the more remote-friendly of the two, by 6.9%. Listings for Data Scientist move faster — median age 42 days against 55.

Comparison

Side by side

MeasureData EngineerData ScientistGap
Open postings28,24511,819+16,426
Posted this week2,126596
Median salary$140,500$153,500$-13k
25th percentile$111k$122k
75th percentile$174k$191k
Salary disclosed5.4%7.6%
Remote share6.8%13.7%-6.9pp
Median age of posting55d42d
Open over 60 days49.3%40.7%
Visa sponsorship24.3%4.2%
Pay

Pay distribution

Data Engineer

$63k$243k

Data Scientist

$69k$266k
Freshness

How old the listings are

Data Engineer

just posted55d median90d+

Data Scientist

just posted42d median90d+
Demand

What each side asks for

Data Engineer — technologies

Python
72.0%
HubSpot
65.8%
JavaScript
59.6%
Docker
53.4%
TypeScript
47.2%
Tableau
41.0%
React
34.8%

Data Scientist — technologies

JavaScript
72.0%
Terraform
65.8%
Salesforce
59.6%
Tableau
53.4%
Spark
47.2%
Airflow
41.0%
HubSpot
34.8%

Data Engineer — employers

Vantage Logistics
9.4%
Brightline Retail
8.7%
Beacon Robotics
8.0%
Lakeshore Hospitality
7.2%
Pinewood Education
6.5%
Quarry Analytics
5.8%
Halcyon Energy
5.1%

Data Scientist — employers

Cobalt Financial
9.4%
Kestrel Health
8.7%
Beacon Robotics
8.0%
Rivergate Media
7.2%
Pinewood Education
6.5%
Halcyon Energy
5.8%
Ironbark Manufacturing
5.1%

Track this slice

A weekly note when openings, pay or freshness move for Data Engineer vs Data Scientist.

More comparisons

Other Data & AI comparisons

Both sides are counted the same way on the same day, so the gap is comparable even where the absolute numbers move. Salary figures use only postings that publish a range — the disclosure rate is in the table because a median over 20% of a cohort is a weaker number than one over 70%.