How do I get a data science internship with no experience?

Several steps can help someone get a data science internship with no experience. Without actual industry experience, candidates need to learn as much about the internship and company as possible.

How much do data science interns make?

Data science interns make approximately $92,000 per year. Salaries can range widely depending on important factors such as education and certification. Entry-level data analyst interns will earn approximately $48,000 entering the field with a bachelor's degree. The vast majority (over 77%) of candidates enter the field this way. Some interns choose to apply with a master's degree. These individuals will earn approximately 7% to 10% based on their education.

What do you do in a data science internship?

In a data science internship, interns learn how to process data for analysis properly. Processing data from various sources to address multiple projects is an important stage of a career in data science.

What does a data intern do?

A data intern gains experience in the information technology (IT) field by assisting data analyst professionals. Data analyst interns should examine information using data analysis tools so that they can help their employers make important decisions by identifying various facts and trends. They write reports and present them to the management to provide new insights about new trends and areas for improvement.

How To Become A Data Science Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a data science internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Amy Ruffus-Doerr Ph.D.

A data science intern supports the data science team in data mining, data analysis, data visualization, and report writing. Data science interns apply their math skills, statistics knowledge, and programming skills to guide strategic decision making. A data science internship is about gaining hands-on experience and using your skills to solve business problems.

A successful data science intern should have an excellent math ability and understand programming languages such as Python, R, and SQL. They can work in various businesses, including software companies, tech companies, finance companies, manufacturing companies, and consultant companies. One can also specialize in data science fields such as data engineering, data architecture, data analysis, or statistics.

Data science interns typically work 40 hours a week from Monday to Friday, 9-to-5. A data science internship is highly beneficial because you get to work alongside professionals, gain practical experience, and build strong professional networks.

What general advice would you give to a data science internship?

Amy Ruffus-Doerr Ph.D.

Assistant Professor, Fontbonne University

Well two disparate things come to mind. First, hustle. I feel like the beginning of your career is like going on a series of blind dates. You want to make that amazing first impression, but you don't want your employer (or other employees for that matter) to take advantage of you. It's an incredibly fine line to walk. Second, if you don't have a lot of experience with money get educated. There are a lot of free resources out there that can help with debt (student or other), investing retirement ect. If you know someone you trust a financial advisor is a great option too. Most graduates will have student debt and this will be their first salaried or high paying jobs. Even if it is a job making $30,000 a year they can start making healthy financial decisions. It may be difficult to think that far out, but if they take control of their finances now, they may be able to take a job they love over one they need in the future.

ScoreData Science InternshipUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,841

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate 19%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

3.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.13%

Asian 14.46%

Black or African American 4.78%

Hispanic or Latino 11.37%

Unknown 4.90%

White 64.36%

Gender

female 46.81%

male 53.19%

Age - 34

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 34

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

4.6

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a data science internship

Explore data science internship education requirements

Most common data science internship degrees

Bachelor's

70.3 %

Master's

20.1 %

Associate

5.1 %

Start to develop specific data science internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Python	16.65%
Visualization	6.30%
Data Analytics	5.84%
Java	5.52%
Data Visualization	3.61%

Complete relevant data science internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New data science interns learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a data science internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real data science internship resumes.

Research data science internship duties and responsibilities

Provide clinical staff with customize population health analytic solutions for tracking specific clinical quality measure and managing high risk patients.
Learned the essentials to C++ and Java to refine code and build the exterior layer of web pages.
Conduct secondary market research including: industry trend, data visualization, and competitor analysis.
Develop data visualization modules for the data collect from electrical, mechanical and chemical tests on batteries.

Prepare your data science internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your data science internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a data science internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable data science internship resume templates

Build a professional data science internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your data science internship resume.

Apply for data science internship jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a data science internship job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first data science internship job

Junyoung Kim

Data Science Internship, freelancing in Outlier

I saw a data science internship on my instagram, and I decided to apply. I was having a hard time getting a data science internship, so I was applying to every position that was open. Fortunately, I got accepted and I could have an opportunity to work on it.

Recently, I found a job product analyst interesting as well. If there's a great opportunity or job offer for data science internship, data scientist, product analyst internship, and/or product analyst job offer, please let me know.