When you’re interested in a career as a data scientist, several factors can inform your salary expectations. Learn how your location, education, and experience can play a role in how much you can earn in this exciting career path.
As data becomes increasingly important for businesses to use in making critical decisions, the demand for data scientists looks good. A career as a data scientist has many well-paid opportunities. Read on to learn what you can expect as a data scientist salary in Canada. We’ll also share strategies to help you boost what you ask for compensation.
Data scientists dig into the deluge of data available and identify problems that could be solved by data analytics. They also determine the correct data sets and variables to analyze and glean important insights. Decision-makers use this valuable information to steer their companies in the right direction.
With big data helping businesses capitalize on the new digital economy, data scientists are in demand to make sense of all that data. You can dig into data from several sources to understand consumer behaviour, inform business decisions, and drive innovation.
Industry Canada predicts a “good” job outlook for data scientists in most provinces over the next three years. Prospects are “very good” in Quebec, “moderate” in PEI and “undetermined” in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories for the same period [1].
According to Glassdoor [2], a data scientist in Canada earns an average salary of $99,507.
Because data scientists can bring tremendous value to organizations, they can often negotiate for higher salaries. Still, many factors can influence a data scientist’s salary. Here is a breakdown of some of those considerations.
Salaries for data scientists can vary significantly from region to region. According to Glassdoor, here is a list of data scientist base salaries in various cities in Canada as of January 2023:
Toronto, ON: $102,687 [3]
Ottawa, ON: $105,569 [4]
Calgary, AB: $99,722 [5]
Vancouver, BC: $101,816 [6]
Edmonton, AB: $96,115 [7]
Montreal, QC: $93,071 [8]
To become a data scientist, you will most likely want to earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, or computer science. Many data scientists also obtain master’s degrees and PhDs. The higher your education level, the higher you can generally expect your income level.
The more experienced you are, the more data scientist salary you can typically earn. As a general rule of thumb, data scientists can expect an additional $2,000 to $2,500 salary increase for every year of experience. Also, managers tend to make more than standard data scientists.
Your career path can also significantly impact your earning capabilities as a data scientist. As a general rule of thumb, working for high-quality large companies will usually enable you to get a higher salary than working for a smaller company. For example, some of the highest-paying companies annual salaries for data scientists in Canada are [2]:
Telus: $110,339
Shopify: $126,457
Teck Resources: $104,846
Manulife: $104,981
Loblaw Companies: $99,859
RBC: $98,729
Moving up in roles can also increase your earning power regardless of your company. You can generally expect a salary bump every time you advance from a level 1 data scientist to a level 2 data scientist, and so on. Also, a data scientist manager typically requires supervising others and tends to pay more, with an average annual salary of $127,983 [9].
As mentioned above, data scientist salaries typically increase with your education level. If you don't yet have a degree, consider earning a bachelor's or master's degree in data science or a related field. Some higher-paying senior data scientist roles may require a PhD. Consider earning an advanced degree if you want to obtain an advanced role.
Several Canadian universities offer master’s degrees in data science. These include:
The University of British Columbia
University of Waterloo
Carleton University
Ryerson University
Saint Mary’s University
Trent University
Langara College
Simon Fraser University
University of Toronto
University of Alberta
Western University
The more skills you have as a data scientist, the more valuable you will usually be to a given organization and the higher the salary you can expect.
Earning a bachelor’s degree in data science or a related field is a good start. However, mastering these related skills can also help:
Machine learning
Programming
Risk analysis
Cloud tools
Software engineering skills
Statistical analysis
Data mining and cleaning
Big data, platform usage
Data warehousing and structures
Although all the technical skills are important to master, do not underestimate the value of workplace skills. Employers all consider communication, collaboration, and critical thinking important and highly valued.
To improve your chances of becoming a highly paid data scientist, focus on advancing your education and gaining practical experience. If you need help mastering the skills of a data scientist, consider one of the Professional Certificates offered on Coursera, like the IBM Data Science Professional Certificate.
professional certificate
Launch Your Career in Salesforce. Learn the foundational skills in Salesforce needed to start a new career.
4.6
(1,657 ratings)
67,864 already enrolled
Beginner level
Average time: 3 month(s)
Learn at your own pace
Skills you'll build:
Sales, Sales Operations, Salesforce, CRM, Salesforce Lightning, Opportunity Management, Lead Management, Reports and Dashboards, Customer Success, Salesforce Sales Cloud
Industry Canada. “Job opportunities next three years: Data Scientist, https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/outlook-occupation/227147/ca/.” Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. “Salaries for Data Scientists in Canada, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/data-scientist-salary-SRCH_KO0,14.htm/.” Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. "Data Scientist Salaries in Toronto, ON, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/toronto-data-scientist-salary-SRCH_IL.0,7_IC2281069_KO8,22.htm." Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. "Data Scientist Salaries in Ottawa, ON, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/ottawa-data-scientist-salary-SRCH_IL.0,6_IC2286068_KO7,21.htm." Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. "Data Scientist Salaries in Calgary, AB, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/calgary-data-scientist-salary-SRCH_IL.0,7_IC2275123_KO8,22.htm." Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. "Data Scientist Salaries in Vancouver, BC, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/vancouver-data-scientist-salary-SRCH_IL.0,9_IC2278756_KO10,24.htm." Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. "Data Scientist Salaries in Edmonton, AB, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/edmonton-data-scientist-salary-SRCH_IL.0,8_IC2274961_KO9,23.htm." Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. "Data Scientist Salaries in Montreal, QC, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/montreal-data-scientist-salary-SRCH_IL.0,8_IC2296722_KO9,23.htm." Accessed June 13, 2024.
Glassdoor. “Data Scientist Manager Salaries, https://www.glassdoor.ca/Salaries/data-scientist-manager-salary-SRCH_KO0,22.htm?clickSource=searchBtn.” Accessed June 13, 2024.
Editorial Team
Coursera’s editorial team is comprised of highly experienced professional editors, writers, and fact...
This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalization. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.