Career comparison
Data Scientist vs. Mathematician
Side-by-side pay, training, growth and day-to-day duties to help you choose between two related careers.
Mathematicians earn more at the median ($126,710 vs. $120,230), while data scientists usually get to work faster (4–6 years of training). Data scientists turn data into insights and predictions that guide decisions. Mathematicians develop math theories and models to solve problems in science, business and security.
Pay data: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Outlook: BLS 2025–35 · Checked October 15, 2026
| Data Scientist | Mathematician | |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $120,230 ($57.80/hr) | $126,710 ($60.92/hr) |
| Pay range (10th–90th) | $67,240 – $199,130 | $69,240 – $195,190 |
| Job growth, 2025–35 | +34.6% (much faster than average) | +0.6% (little or no change) |
| Openings per year | 24,800 | 100 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree | Master's degree |
| Training time | 4–6 years | 2–6 years after a bachelor’s |
| Key credential | Google Advanced Data Analytics Certificate | Ph.D. in mathematics |
| Work setting | Data scientists work in offices or remotely at computers, collaborating with engineers, analysts and business teams.. | Mathematicians work in offices for government, research labs and companies.. |
What each job does
Data Scientist
- 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
Mathematician
- Develop models
- Prove theories
- Design algorithms
- Analyze data
- Write papers
How they’re similar
Both careers involve working with information, desk work, problem-solving, and working independently. They sit in different fields, technology and science, engineering & lab, but share transferable skills such as curiosity and persistence.
Which should you choose?
Choose data scientist if…
- I love working with numbers and data
- I enjoy statistics and coding
- I like finding patterns
Choose mathematician if…
- I love math
- I’m persistent
- I like hard problems
Still torn? Take the Data Scientist fit quiz and the Mathematician fit quiz, or the full Career Match Quiz.
Quick comparisons
Which pays more, data scientist or mathematician?
Mathematicians earn more at the median: $126,710 versus $120,230 for data scientists, based on BLS May 2025 data.
Which takes less time to train for?
Data Scientists typically train faster (4–6 years) than mathematicians (2–6 years after a bachelor’s).
Which career has better job growth?
BLS projects data scientists to grow +34.6% from 2025–35, compared with +0.6% for mathematicians.