Career comparison
Data Scientist vs. Software Developer
Side-by-side pay, training, growth and day-to-day duties to help you choose between two related careers.
Software developers earn more at the median ($135,980 vs. $120,230), while software developers usually get to work faster (4 years or bootcamp plus portfolio of training). Data scientists turn data into insights and predictions that guide decisions. Software developers design, build and improve the apps and systems people use every day.
Pay data: BLS OEWS, May 2025 · Outlook: BLS 2025–35 · Checked October 15, 2026
| Data Scientist | Software Developer | |
|---|---|---|
| Median pay | $120,230 ($57.80/hr) | $135,980 ($65.38/hr) |
| Pay range (10th–90th) | $67,240 – $199,130 | $82,460 – $214,670 |
| Job growth, 2025–35 | +34.6% (much faster than average) | +10.2% (much faster than average) |
| Openings per year | 24,800 | 95,300 |
| Typical entry education | Bachelor's degree | Bachelor's degree |
| Training time | 4–6 years | 4 years or bootcamp plus portfolio |
| Key credential | Google Advanced Data Analytics Certificate | AWS Certified Developer – Associate |
| Work setting | Data scientists work in offices or remotely at computers, collaborating with engineers, analysts and business teams.. | Developers work in offices or remotely, mostly at computers, collaborating through chat, video and code review tools.. |
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
Software Developer
- Gather requirements and design software features
- Write clean, maintainable code
- Write and run automated tests
- Debug and fix defects
- Review code and collaborate in version control
How they’re similar
Both careers involve working with information, desk work, problem-solving, and working independently. Both are part of the technology field, so many skills transfer between them.
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 software developer if…
- I love solving puzzles
- I enjoy building things with code
- I can focus for long periods
Still torn? Take the Data Scientist fit quiz and the Software Developer fit quiz, or the full Career Match Quiz.
Quick comparisons
Which pays more, data scientist or software developer?
Software Developers earn more at the median: $135,980 versus $120,230 for data scientists, based on BLS May 2025 data.
Which takes less time to train for?
Software Developers typically train faster (4 years or bootcamp plus portfolio) 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 +10.2% for software developers.