Data is growing—impacting our lives and economy. Are you ready to manage critical data sets? Choose a domain and Michigan Technological University's interdisciplinary Master of Science in Data Science provides you with training, skills, and opportunities to become a specialist.
A Growing, High-Impact Field
The field of data science has emerged in response to the increased data abundance in industry, science, and engineering—a result of richer content and high-speed communication networks. The total amount of data created, captured, copied, and consumed globally is increasing rapidly and and through 2025, global data creation is projected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes according to Rivery.
Accordingly, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 36% growth in employment for data scientists from 2023 to 2033, much faster than average. The mean entry-level salary is $87,943 (Payscale) with a mean annual wage of $124,590 (BLS) and the top 10 percent making $194,410 (BLS).
See additional computing salary information.
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Figures from payscale.com, accessed April 2025.
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Figures from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), dated May 2024.
Who Are Data Scientists?
Total global data storage is projected to exceed 200 zettabytes by 2025. Because data-collecting abilities have far outpaced techniques to manage these data, the world urgently needs scientists who can expertly analyze and interpret massive data sets. One of the nation's fastest growing careers, data science professionals work as business intelligence analysts, data mining engineers, data architects, data scientists, and more. They are well-rounded, data-driven individuals with high-level technical skills capable of synthesizing large amounts of information to answer complex questions and drive strategy in their organizations.
Big Producers of Data
- Twitter and Facebook, which both generate more than 7 terabytes of data each day
- e-Health networks
- Telemetry devices and sensors
- Environmental agencies
- Commercial entities
- Information security agencies
