Data scientists vs. machine learning engineers

"As the name suggests, data scientists are responsible for assisting companies to adopt data-driven decision-making via discovery of valuable insights in data," Su said. A data scientist uses complex algorithms, manipulates data and leverages a host of technologies that require specialized math, technology and computer skills, and business acumen to generate insights. "They will lead the discovery process, work through extracting, cleaning and loading the data before conducting investigations and analysis of the data by applying statistical models or algorithms to the data set," added Jim Johnson, senior vice president for the technology division of Robert Half Technology, a human resources consulting firm. Meanwhile, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the salary range for data scientists and other mathematical science occupations at $53,000 to $158,000. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also identified data scientists among the 12 fastest-growing occupations for the upcoming decade.