Data Scientist
Information Technology
Turn large datasets into models and decisions organizations can act on.
Why it matters here: Federal contractors and DMV tech firms post data roles year-round.
Labor Market — DMV Region
Sourced from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS releases (DMV metro and nationwide) plus MD, VA, and D.C. workforce agencies.
Local cost of living is why DMV pay often differs from the national median.
- DMV & state figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — OEWS wage & employment estimates and Employment Projections, with OEWS area pay relatives for the Washington–Arlington–Alexandria metro, Maryland, D.C., and Northern Virginia · View source
- Occupation profiles & skills: O*NET OnLine (U.S. Department of Labor) · onetonline.org
All salary figures are published estimates for groups of workers, not offers or guarantees for any individual role.
Education & Career Pathways
Multiple ways to get here — pick the one that fits your life.
Career Progression
How you can grow — with expected salary at each step.
- Entry-level Data ScientistLearning the role, supervised work, building core skills.$90,470
- Data Scientist (experienced)Independent work, mentoring newer team members.$117,740
- Senior / Lead Data ScientistOwning projects, specialization, higher responsibility.$155,870
- Manager or specialist trackSupervising a team or moving into a high-demand specialty.$187,044
Skills Required
What you'll actually do — and how you'll be judged.
Hybrid analytical desk, weekday hours, project cycles
Where you work
An office or home desk deep in notebooks, models and stakeholder decks.
Hours and schedule
Weekday hours; deadlines come from business decisions and reporting cycles.
Pace and pressure
Long analysis stretches, then intense pressure to explain findings simply to leadership.
Who you work with
Embedded with a business or product team, plus a data-science guild for peer review.
Physical demands
Desk work.
What people wear
Business casual; more formal in federal and consulting settings.
Remote reality
Very remote-friendly outside of classified data environments.
Workplace culture: what's normal here
- Methods are peer-reviewed internally before results are presented externally.
- Uncertainty is communicated, not hidden — ranges and caveats belong in the slide.
- A simple model people trust beats a complex one nobody adopts.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Work Environment, with regional detail for the DMV.
Official data behind this career
Federal statistics for DMV Region, translated into plain language.
Washington–Arlington–Alexandria, DC–VA–MD–WV metro area
Source: U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 2019–2023 5-year estimates (tables DP03, DP02, DP05)
- The DMV functions as one labor market: workers routinely cross state lines to get to work.
- The largest employment destinations are D.C., Fairfax County and Montgomery County.
Top places these workers go to work
Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — BEA regional GDP and personal income, most recent published year
Private-sector payroll data from ADP. It is a supplemental near-real-time indicator and does not replace BLS government employment statistics.
Source: ADP National Employment Report — Most recent monthly ADP National Employment Report
- 1U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OOH, OEWS, Employment Projections, CES) — Primary source for occupation wages, outlook, projected openings, education and training.
- 2U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey — Primary source for income, educational attainment, labor force and demographic context by place.
- 3Census LEHD (LODES / OnTheMap) — Primary source for where workers live versus where they work, and local workforce flows.
- 4U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Primary source for regional GDP, industry contribution, compensation and personal income.
- 5ADP National Employment Report — Supplemental near-real-time private-sector employment and pay indicator. Not a replacement for BLS.
Figures describe groups of workers, not any one person. Where an official figure is not published for a category, this page says “Data unavailable for this category.” rather than estimating.
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