Career comparison
Data Scientist vs. Meteorologist
Side-by-side pay, training, growth and day-to-day duties to help you choose between two related careers.
Data scientists earn more at the median ($120,230 vs. $99,070), while meteorologists usually get to work faster (4-year degree of training). Data scientists turn data into insights and predictions that guide decisions. Meteorologists forecast weather and study the atmosphere.
Pay data: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Outlook: BLS 2025–35 · Checked October 15, 2026
| Data Scientist | Meteorologist | |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $120,230 ($57.80/hr) | $99,070 ($47.63/hr) |
| Pay range (10th–90th) | $67,240 – $199,130 | $53,060 – $161,890 |
| Job growth, 2025–35 | +34.6% (much faster than average) | +2.6% (about as fast as average) |
| Openings per year | 24,800 | 800 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree |
| Training time | 4–6 years | 4-year degree |
| Key credential | Google Advanced Data Analytics Certificate | CBM |
| Work setting | Data scientists work in offices or remotely at computers, collaborating with engineers, analysts and business teams.. | Meteorologists work in forecast offices, TV studios and labs.. |
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
Meteorologist
- Analyze weather data
- Run forecast models
- Issue forecasts
- Issue warnings
- Study climate
How they’re similar
Both careers involve working with information, problem-solving, and high-pay. They sit in different fields, technology and science, engineering & lab, but share transferable skills such as curiosity and calm under pressure.
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 meteorologist if…
- I love weather
- I like math and physics
- I can make quick decisions
Still torn? Take the Data Scientist fit quiz and the Meteorologist fit quiz, or the full Career Match Quiz.
Quick comparisons
Which pays more, data scientist or meteorologist?
Data Scientists earn more at the median: $120,230 versus $99,070 for meteorologists, based on BLS May 2025 data.
Which takes less time to train for?
Meteorologists typically train faster (4-year degree) than data scientists (4–6 years).
Which career has better job growth?
BLS projects data scientists to grow +34.6% from 2025–35, compared with +2.6% for meteorologists.