Starting salaries for big data pros will continue to rise in 2017 as companies jockey to hire skilled data professionals.
Recruiting and staffing specialist Robert Half Technology studied more than 75 tech positions for its annual guide to U.S. tech salaries, including 13 jobs in the data/data administration field.
In the big picture, starting salaries for newly hired IT workers are forecast to climb 3.8% next year. (See also: 14 hot network jobs/skills for 2017)
In the data world, the highest paying title is big data engineer; these specialists can expect starting salaries ranging from $135,000 to $196,000. The biggest raise is projected for data scientists, who can expect a 6.4% boost in 2017.
Here are 13 data-related roles poised to gain pay bumps next year. Note: Only base salaries are calculated. Totals don’t include bonuses, equity awards or other compensation elements.
Big data engineer
2017 salary range: $135,000 - $196,000
Raise: 5.8%
Data architect
2017 salary range: $131,250 - $184,000
Raise: 4.1%
Data warehouse manager
2017 salary range: $129,000 - $179,000
Raise: 4.1%
Database manager
2017 salary range: $122,250 - $177,000
Raise: 3.7%
Business intelligence analyst
2017 salary range: $118,000 - $171,750
Raise: 4.3%
Data scientist
2017 salary range: $116,000 - $163,500
Raise: 6.4%
Data modeler
2017 salary range: $111,000 - $161,500
Raise: 3.9%
Database developer
2017 salary range: $108,000 - $161,500
Raise: 5.1%
Data warehouse analyst
2017 salary range: $107,500 - $155,750
Raise: 2.4%
Database administrator
2017 salary range: $98,500 - $148,500
Raise: 3.6%
Portal administrator
2017 salary range: $96,000 - $138,750
Raise: 2.8%
Data analyst/report writer
2017 salary range: $77,500 - $118,750
Raise: 3.8%
EDI specialist
2017 salary range: $77,500 - $118,750
Raise: 2.2%
Robert Half Technology also singled out four skills that can boost a data pro’s salary potential. Job candidates with Microsoft SQL Server database skills can expect to see an 8% bump in salary, and those with Hadoop skills can earn an additional 7%. Oracle database skills will deliver a 6% salary increase, and ETL skills also will boost salaries by 6%.
The full report is available for download here.