As a job seeker, I’ve always been surprised by the lack of data exploring the most optimal jobs and skills in the data science market. I set out to understand what skills top employers request and how to land more pay.
To understand the data science job market, I asked the following:
- Do more skills get you better pay?
- What’s the salary for data jobs in different regions?
- What are the top skills of data professionals?
- What’s the pay for the top 10 skills?
The following Excel skills were utilized for analysis:
- 📊 Pivot Tables
- 📈 Pivot Charts
- 🧮 DAX (Data Analysis Expressions)
- 🔍 Power Query
- 💪 Power Pivot
The dataset used for this project contains real-world data science job information from 2023. The dataset is available via my Excel course, which provides a foundation for analyzing data using Excel.
It includes detailed information on:
- 👨💼 Job titles
- 💰 Salaries
- 📍 Locations
- 🛠️ Skills
- I first used Power Query to extract the original data (
data_salary_all.xlsx) and create two queries:- 🗃️ First one with all the data jobs information.
- 🔧 The second listing the skills for each job ID.
- Then, I transformed each query by changing column types, removing unnecessary columns, cleaning text to eliminate specific words, and trimming excess whitespace.
- 📊 data_jobs_all
- 🛠️ data_job_skills!
- Finally, I loaded both transformed queries into the workbook, setting the foundation for my subsequent analysis.
- 📊 data_jobs_all
- 🛠️ data_job_skills
- 📈 There is a positive correlation between the number of skills requested in job postings and the median salary, particularly in roles like Senior Data Engineer and Data Scientist.
- 💼 Roles that require fewer skills, like Business Analyst, tend to offer lower salaries, suggesting that more specialized skill sets command higher market value.
- This trend emphasizes the value of acquiring multiple relevant skills, particularly for individuals aiming for higher-paying roles.
- 🔢 I created a PivotTable using the Data Model I created with Power Pivot.
- 📊 I moved the
job_title_shortto the rows area andsalary_year_avginto the values area. - 🧮 Then I added new measure to calculate the median salary for United States jobs.
=CALCULATE( MEDIAN(data_jobs_all[salary_year_avg]), data_jobs_all[job_country] = "United States")
-
To calculate the median year salary I used DAX.
Median Salary := MEDIAN(data_jobs_all[salary_year_avg])
- 💼 Job roles like Senior Data Engineer and Data Scientist command higher median salaries both in the US and internationally, showcasing the global demand for high-level data expertise.
- 💰 The salary disparity between US and Non-US roles is particularly notable in high-tech jobs, which might be influenced by the concentration of tech industries in the US.
- These salary insights are important for planning and salary negotiations, helping professionals and companies align their offers with market standards while considering geographical variations.
- 🔗 I created a data model by integrating the
data_jobs_allanddata_jobs_skillstables into one model. - 🧹 Since I had already cleaned the data using Power Query; Power Pivot created a relationship between these two tables.
- I created a relationship between my two tables using the
job_idcolumn.
- The Power Pivot menu was used to refine my data model and makes it easy to create measures.
- 💻 SQL and Python dominate as top skills in data-related jobs, reflecting their foundational role in data processing and analysis.
- ☁️ Emerging technologies like AWS and Azure also show significant presence, underlining the industry's shift towards cloud services and big data technologies.
- Understanding prevalent skills in the industry not only helps professionals stay competitive but also guides training and educational programs to focus on the most impactful technologies.
- I created a combo PivotChart to plot median salary and skill likelihood (%) from my PivotTable.
- 🪙 Primary Axis: Median Salary (as a Clustered Column)
- 👍 Secondary Axis: Skill Likelihood (as a Line with Markers)
- To customize the chart, I added a title axis title, removed the lines (skill likelihood), and changed the markers to diamonds.
- 💰 Higher median salaries are associated with skills like Python, Oracle, and SQL, suggesting their critical role in high-paying tech jobs.
- 📉 Skills like PowerPoint and Word have the lowest median salaries and likelihood, indicating less specialization and demand in high-salary sectors.
- This chart highlights the importance of investing time in learning high-value skills like Python and SQL, which are evidently tied to higher paying roles, especially for those looking to maximize their salary in the tech industry.
As a data enthusiast and former job seeker, I embarked on this Excel-based project to uncover valuable insights about the data science job market. Using a dataset I've curated from real-world job postings, I analyzed job titles, salaries, locations, and essential skills. By leveraging Excel features like Power Query, PivotTables, DAX, and charts, I discovered key correlations between multiple skills and higher salaries, particularly in Python, SQL, and cloud technologies.
I hope this project serves as a practical guide for data professionals and provides an overview of the skills needed for higher-paying roles.









