Do data scientists earn more than data analysts UK?

Yes, data scientists typically earn 20-40% more than data analysts. Data analysts earn £28,000-£55,000 while data scientists earn £40,000-£100,000+. Data scientists require stronger programming, statistics, and machine learning skills. However, there's significant overlap and career paths between the roles.

What is the highest paid data science job UK?

The highest-paid data science roles are machine learning engineers at FAANG (£100,000-£200,000+), principal data scientists at tech companies (£120,000-£180,000), quantitative researchers at hedge funds (£150,000-£500,000+), and heads of data science (£130,000-£200,000). Total compensation including stock can be significantly higher.

Is data science still a good career UK 2026?

Yes, data science remains highly sought-after despite AI changes. Demand is evolving toward MLOps, AI/ML engineering, and specialised domains. Salaries remain strong at £50,000-£100,000+ for experienced roles. Skills in AI/ML, cloud platforms, and business understanding are increasingly valuable.

How Much Do Data Scientists Earn in the UK? — 2026 Salary Guide | PocketWise

Q: How much do data scientists earn in the UK 2026?

UK data scientists earn £35,000-£50,000 at junior level, £50,000-£75,000 at mid-level, £70,000-£100,000 at senior level, and £90,000-£150,000+ at principal/lead level. FAANG and top fintech companies pay significantly more — up to £150,000-£250,000+ total compensation including stock. London pays 20-30% premium.

Data science continues to be one of the highest-paid technology careers in the UK. Here’s the complete breakdown of what data scientists and related roles earn.

Data Scientist Salary by Level (2025/26)

By Experience Level

Level	Salary (National)	Salary (London)
Graduate/Junior (0-2 years)	£35,000-£50,000	£40,000-£60,000
Mid-level (2-5 years)	£50,000-£75,000	£60,000-£90,000
Senior (5-8 years)	£70,000-£100,000	£85,000-£120,000
Lead/Staff (8-12 years)	£90,000-£130,000	£110,000-£160,000
Principal (12+ years)	£110,000-£160,000	£130,000-£200,000
Head of Data Science	£120,000-£180,000	£140,000-£220,000

Pay by Company Type

Big Tech (FAANG and Similar)

Level	Base Salary	Stock (RSUs)	Total Comp
Junior/L3	£55,000-£70,000	£15,000-£30,000	£70,000-£100,000
Mid/L4	£75,000-£95,000	£30,000-£60,000	£105,000-£155,000
Senior/L5	£95,000-£130,000	£50,000-£100,000	£145,000-£230,000
Staff/L6	£120,000-£160,000	£80,000-£150,000	£200,000-£310,000
Principal/L7	£150,000-£200,000	£100,000-£200,000	£250,000-£400,000

Fintech and Finance

Level	Salary
Junior	£45,000-£60,000
Mid-level	£60,000-£85,000
Senior	£85,000-£120,000
Lead	£110,000-£150,000
Head of Data Science	£140,000-£200,000

Banks and Investment Firms

Level	Base	Bonus	Total
Junior (AVP equivalent)	£55,000-£70,000	£10,000-£20,000	£65,000-£90,000
Mid (VP equivalent)	£75,000-£100,000	£20,000-£50,000	£95,000-£150,000
Senior (Director)	£100,000-£140,000	£40,000-£100,000	£140,000-£240,000
Managing Director	£140,000-£200,000	£80,000-£200,000+	£220,000-£400,000+

Startups and Scale-ups

Level	Salary	Equity
Junior	£35,000-£50,000	Variable (often significant)
Mid-level	£50,000-£70,000	0.01-0.1%
Senior	£70,000-£95,000	0.05-0.3%
Lead	£90,000-£120,000	0.1-0.5%
Head	£110,000-£150,000	0.3-1%+

Consulting

Firm Type	Junior	Senior/Manager
Big 4 (Deloitte, PwC, EY, KPMG)	£40,000-£55,000	£70,000-£110,000
MBB (McKinsey, BCG, Bain)	£55,000-£70,000	£100,000-£180,000
Boutique data consultancy	£38,000-£50,000	£65,000-£100,000

Retail, FMCG, and Corporate

Level	Salary
Junior	£32,000-£45,000
Mid-level	£45,000-£62,000
Senior	£60,000-£85,000
Lead	£80,000-£110,000
Head	£100,000-£140,000

Data Analyst

Level	Salary
Junior	£25,000-£35,000
Mid-level	£35,000-£48,000
Senior	£45,000-£62,000
Lead	£55,000-£75,000

Machine Learning Engineer

Level	Salary
Junior	£40,000-£55,000
Mid-level	£55,000-£80,000
Senior	£80,000-£120,000
Staff/Principal	£110,000-£180,000
FAANG ML Engineer	£90,000-£250,000+

Data Engineer

Level	Salary
Junior	£35,000-£48,000
Mid-level	£48,000-£70,000
Senior	£70,000-£100,000
Lead/Principal	£95,000-£140,000

MLOps/AI Engineer

Level	Salary
Junior	£40,000-£55,000
Mid-level	£55,000-£80,000
Senior	£80,000-£120,000
Lead	£110,000-£160,000

Business Intelligence Analyst

Level	Salary
Junior	£28,000-£38,000
Mid-level	£38,000-£52,000
Senior	£50,000-£70,000
Manager	£65,000-£90,000

Specialist and Niche Roles

By Specialism

Specialism	Salary Range
NLP/Natural Language Processing	£60,000-£130,000
Computer Vision	£60,000-£130,000
Reinforcement Learning	£70,000-£150,000
Quantitative Research (Finance)	£80,000-£500,000+
AI Research Scientist	£70,000-£200,000
Deep Learning Engineer	£65,000-£140,000
Recommendation Systems	£60,000-£120,000

By Industry

Industry	Senior DS Salary
Tech (FAANG)	£100,000-£180,000
Finance/Banking	£90,000-£150,000
Fintech	£80,000-£130,000
Hedge Funds	£120,000-£400,000+
Pharmaceuticals	£70,000-£100,000
Retail/E-commerce	£65,000-£100,000
Gaming	£60,000-£100,000
Healthcare	£55,000-£85,000
Government/Public sector	£50,000-£70,000

Contractor/Freelance Rates

Level	Daily Rate	Annual Equivalent
Junior	£300-£450	£68,000-£100,000
Mid-level	£450-£600	£100,000-£135,000
Senior	£550-£750	£125,000-£170,000
Lead/Expert	£700-£1,000	£160,000-£225,000
Specialist (NLP, CV, etc.)	£650-£900	£145,000-£200,000

Contractors typically work through limited companies (outside IR35) or via umbrella companies (inside IR35).

Regional Pay Comparison

Region	Mid-Level DS
Central London	£65,000-£90,000
Greater London	£55,000-£80,000
Cambridge	£55,000-£80,000
Oxford	£50,000-£75,000
Manchester	£45,000-£65,000
Edinburgh	£45,000-£65,000
Bristol	£45,000-£65,000
Leeds	£42,000-£60,000
Birmingham	£42,000-£60,000
Remote (UK company)	£50,000-£75,000

Skills and Salary Impact

Programming Languages

Skill	Salary Premium
Python	Standard requirement
R	+£0-£5,000
Scala	+£5,000-£15,000
SQL	Standard requirement
Spark/PySpark	+£5,000-£10,000

Tools and Platforms

Skill	Salary Premium
AWS/Azure/GCP	+£5,000-£15,000
TensorFlow/PyTorch	+£5,000-£15,000
MLOps (MLflow, Kubeflow)	+£5,000-£15,000
Databricks	+£5,000-£10,000
Airflow	+£3,000-£8,000

Domains

Domain	Premium/Impact
Finance/Quant	+20-50%
AI/ML Research	+10-30%
Healthcare/Pharma	Base to +10%
Marketing/Adtech	Base to +10%

How to Become a Data Scientist

Common Entry Routes

Route	Typical Background
MSc Data Science	1 year, £10,000-£25,000
MSc Computer Science/Stats	1 year, £10,000-£25,000
PhD (quantitative field)	3-4 years, funded
Bootcamp + experience	3-6 months, £5,000-£15,000
Self-taught + projects	Variable
Career transition (analyst)	On-the-job learning

Typical Requirements

Role Level	Education	Experience
Junior	BSc/MSc in quantitative field	0-2 years
Mid-level	MSc preferred	2-5 years
Senior	MSc/PhD helpful	5+ years
Lead/Principal	Often PhD	8+ years

Benefits and Compensation

Typical Benefits Package

Benefit	Typical
Base salary	Varies by level
Bonus	10-30% of base
Stock/RSUs	Tech companies: significant
Pension	5-10% employer contribution
Annual leave	25-30 days
Remote/hybrid work	Very common
Learning budget	£1,000-£5,000
Home office allowance	£500-£1,500

Career Progression

Stage	Years	Role	Salary
Entry	0-2	Junior Data Scientist	£35,000-£50,000
Building skills	2-4	Data Scientist	£50,000-£70,000
Independence	4-6	Senior Data Scientist	£70,000-£90,000
Leadership	6-10	Lead/Staff DS	£90,000-£130,000
Expert	10+	Principal DS	£120,000-£180,000
Management	8+	Head of Data Science	£130,000-£200,000+

Summary

Role	Salary Range
Junior Data Scientist	£35,000-£55,000
Mid-level Data Scientist	£50,000-£80,000
Senior Data Scientist	£75,000-£110,000
Lead/Principal	£100,000-£160,000+
Head of Data Science	£130,000-£220,000
Data Analyst	£28,000-£65,000
ML Engineer	£45,000-£180,000
Contractor (daily)	£400-£900+
FAANG (total comp)	£100,000-£400,000