How to become a data scientist
Official title: Data scientist
Also called: Data analyst, Market research analyst, Business intelligence analyst, Data warehouse analyst, Data modeller, Data steward, AI specialist
Data scientists analyse and interpret data using digital tools and techniques. They extract meaning from datasets and create data reports.
Main tasks
- Collect and organise data
- Assess data quality
- Find trends, patterns and insights from data
- Use computer programming code to analyse data
- Build statistical models
- Prepare data reports
- Create graphs, charts and infographics
- Present information to others
How to become one
You usually need experience and a qualification to become a data scientist. You usually need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a bachelor's degree in mathematics and statistics, software engineering and computer science or similar area; a Graduate Diploma in Applied Statistics or similar; a postgraduate certificate or diploma in mathematics and statistics or similar area.
Ways in
- University: Mathematics & Statistics degrees
- University: Computing & IT degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $83,000 to $143,000 a year (median $113,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $61,000 a year · Upper: $176,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Strong increase (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
- Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- About 860 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Other Information and Organisation Professionals, 51% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Other Information and Organisation Professionals work (2023 Census): Auckland 31.4%, Wellington 25%, and Canterbury 10.9%.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a data scientist?
You usually need experience and a qualification to become a data scientist. You usually need University Entrance to do the study or training for this job. Other requirements: experience in similar work; a bachelor's degree in mathematics and statistics, software engineering and computer science or similar area; a Graduate Diploma in Applied Statistics or similar; a postgraduate certificate or diploma in mathematics and statistics or similar area.
How much does a data scientist earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $113,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $83,000 to $143,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a data scientist grown in New Zealand?
It has grown strongly: TEC records a strong increase in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Will AI change the work of a data scientist?
Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026