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Database engineer vs data scientist

The differences between database engineers and data scientists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a database engineer and a data scientist. Additionally, a data scientist has an average salary of $106,104, which is higher than the $104,648 average annual salary of a database engineer.

The top three skills for a database engineer include python, troubleshoot and java. The most important skills for a data scientist are python, data science, and visualization.

Database engineer vs data scientist overview

Database EngineerData Scientist
Yearly salary$104,648$106,104
Hourly rate$50.31$51.01
Growth rate9%16%
Number of jobs152,951106,973
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Average age4641
Years of experience44

What does a database engineer do?

A database engineer is responsible for maintaining the security of an organization's network databases, preventing unauthorized access and activities, and upgrading data infrastructure. Database engineers manage the volume of stored data, ensuring that the information would not affect the traffic flow and navigation. They also design database according to business requirements and needs, conducting multiple quality checks before releasing the final outputs for high functionality. A database engineer must have excellent technical skills, as well as extensive knowledge of programming languages and database administration, to create efficient system networks.

What does a data scientist do?

A Data Scientist analyzes information from multiple sources in order to gain maximum insight that can give the company a competitive advantage. They work in different domains, including manufacturing, healthcare, education, and finance.

Database engineer vs data scientist salary

Database engineers and data scientists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Database EngineerData Scientist
Average salary$104,648$106,104
Salary rangeBetween $72,000 And $150,000Between $75,000 And $148,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CARichmond, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAirbnbThe Citadel
Best paying industryTechnologyStart-up

Differences between database engineer and data scientist education

There are a few differences between a database engineer and a data scientist in terms of educational background:

Database EngineerData Scientist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 51%
Most common majorComputer ScienceComputer Science
Most common collegeMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyColumbia University in the City of New York

Database engineer vs data scientist demographics

Here are the differences between database engineers' and data scientists' demographics:

Database EngineerData Scientist
Average age4641
Gender ratioMale, 78.7% Female, 21.3%Male, 79.6% Female, 20.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 7.4% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 22.8% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 4.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 6.9% Asian, 18.8% White, 64.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage6%9%

Differences between database engineer and data scientist duties and responsibilities

Database engineer example responsibilities.

  • Create PHP page for loan officers to add to their contact list for leads which interact with the MySQL database.
  • Develop Perl and awk scripts to validate the various data on LINUX base system.
  • Develop procedures; UNIX shell, SQL, and Perl scripts; and software programs for database processing.
  • Trace AutoTrader Latino inventory process through the ETL and refresh to identify, troubleshoot, and correct code problems.
  • Develop, implement, and execute a quality assurance program and quality control standards for all ETL (SSIS) activities.
  • Pioneer mainframe development the on PC.
  • Show more

Data scientist example responsibilities.

  • Update, maintain, and manage regional CRM database and records for customers, vendors, and suppliers.
  • Configure and manage JobScope ERP system for a make-to-order/make-to-stock design and manufacturing environment.
  • Lead the analysis in SAS for data integration of mortality data using meta-analysis integration methods.
  • Implement a proximal stochastic gradient descent with a line search to fit a regularize logistic regression in Scala
  • Perform cross-validation-test on linear regression model of data using scikit-learn.
  • Develop python base statistical visualization to provide insights of fuzzy social media data.
  • Show more

Database engineer vs data scientist skills

Common database engineer skills
  • Python, 10%
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
  • Java, 6%
  • AWS, 4%
  • Database Administration, 4%
  • Unix, 3%
Common data scientist skills
  • Python, 13%
  • Data Science, 10%
  • Visualization, 5%
  • Java, 4%
  • Hadoop, 4%
  • Tableau, 3%

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