Switzerland-based data scientists receive the most lucrative deals from their employers but their higher pay compared to the rest of their colleagues in Europe may be due to the substantially higher cost of living in the landlocked country according to recruiting firm Big Cloud.
Michael Baxter filed this report in InformationAge:
The highest data science salaries can be found in Switzerland, with an average annual data science salary of £91,986 (approximately $121,416 at time of writing). The Netherlands, at €68,880 ($81,165), and the UK averaging £59,781 ($78,907), are next in the salary league table.
While acknowledging that the salaries are partially reflective of higher costs of living, relative to some of the other countries surveyed, Big Data said that in Switzerland, Netherlands the UK and Germany, data science professionals are working in a more mature technological market. In these countries, both start-ups and large corporations alike are carrying out advanced research. Investment in companies in these countries is extremely high too, as VC’s see higher return. Clearly, data science salaries in these countries reflect this.
But this brings us to staff retention. Big Cloud said that many managers are unsure how to keep data scientists once they have hired them. The report found that 58% of experienced data scientists have been at their current place of work for one year or less. A mere 20 per cent have been in the current role two years or longer. Big Cloud suggested that this high staff turnover rate is “typical of a new, exciting, and demand driven market”. It explained that data science work is often project based, and requires constant learning of new skills and technologies, and that “this is something professionals seem keen to seek out by keeping their career options open.”
