Day in the life
A Day in the Life of a Data Scientist
What data scientists actually do from the start of a shift to the end: the tasks, tools, schedule and realities of the job.
Review dashboard metrics and check on a model running in production. From there, the day usually includes gather and clean data from many sources, explore data with statistics and visualizations, and build predictive and machine learning models. Most work full-time with flexible hours and occasional deadline crunches.
Hour by hour: a typical shift
No two days are identical, but this timeline reflects a realistic day for a data scientist working full time.
- Review dashboard metrics and check on a model running in production.
- Write SQL to pull customer data for a churn analysis.
- Clean the data and explore patterns in a notebook.
- Train and compare machine learning models.
- Meet the marketing team to discuss an A/B test design.
- Build charts and write up findings.
- Push code and document the model.
Where data scientists work
Data scientists work in offices or remotely at computers, collaborating with engineers, analysts and business teams.
Hours and schedule
Most work full-time with flexible hours and occasional deadline crunches.
Tasks you’ll do most often
- Gather and clean data from many sources
- Explore data with statistics and visualizations
- Build predictive and machine learning models
- Design and analyze experiments
- Deploy and monitor models
- Create dashboards and reports
- Explain findings to stakeholders
Tools you’ll use every day
- Python libraries such as pandas and scikit-learn
- Jupyter notebooks
- SQL databases and data warehouses
- Visualization tools such as Tableau or Power BI
- Cloud platforms
- Git
The best and hardest parts of the job
What people like
- Very fast job growth
- High pay
- Interesting, varied problems
- Remote-friendly
What’s hard
- Messy data takes most of the time
- Requires strong math and programming
- Results can be hard to explain
- Competitive entry roles
You’ll likely thrive if…
- I love working with numbers and data
- I enjoy statistics and coding
- I like finding patterns
- I can explain complex results simply
- I’m curious about why things happen
- I want a fast-growing, high-paying career
Not sure? Take the free Data Scientist fit quiz or the Career Match Quiz.
Staying safe on the job
- Protect personal and sensitive data
- Follow privacy laws and company policies
- Check models for bias and fairness
- Take screen breaks and use ergonomic setups