Data Scientist (Environmental)
Impact: Environmental conservation, climate risk reduction, and sustainability policy support
Apply machine learning and statistical modelling to environmental datasets to including climate, biodiversity, and pollution data to to generate insights that inform conservation strategies, regulatory compliance, and sustainability initiatives. Partner with environmental scientists and policymakers to translate complex analytical outputs into actionable environmental decisions.
What the day looks like
- People interaction
- Moderate
- Team vs solo
- 55% Team / 45% Solo
- Client facing
- Sometimes
- Impact visibility
- Moderate
- Travel
- 10-20% fieldwork or conference travel
- Schedule flexibility
- Flexible
- Remote work
- Hybrid
- Typical work hours
- 40-45 hours/week
- Stress level
- Moderate
At a glance
- Median salary
- $105,000
- Entry-level
- $75,000 - $95,000
- Senior
- $135,000+
- Growth by 2033
- 25% (much faster than average)
- Demand
- Growing Fast
- Freelance potential
- Moderate
- Salary growth potential
- Moderate to 55-70% growth from entry to senior
- Typical student debt
- $40,000 - $80,000
Skills you'll use
Hard skills
- Python / R
- Geospatial Analysis (QGIS / ArcGIS)
- Remote Sensing & Satellite Imagery
- Machine Learning for Time-Series Data
- SQL & Big Data (Spark)
- Environmental Modelling (NetCDF / HDF5)
Soft skills
- Analytical Thinking
- Scientific Communication
- Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Attention to Detail
Technical complexity: Very High
How to get there
- Minimum education
- Master's Degree
- Licensing
- No
- Years to mid-career
- 3-5 years
- Years to senior
- 6-9 years
- Career switching
- Moderate
Where this career leads
How people arrive here
Where you can go from here
Typical progression
- Environmental Analyst
- Data Scientist
- Senior Data Scientist (Environmental)
- Lead Data Scientist
- Head of Environmental Analytics
Future outlook
- Automation probability
- 18% to domain expertise in environmental science protects against full automation
- AI disruption risk
- Moderate
- Demand trend
- Growing Fast
How people feel about it
- Overall satisfaction
- 3.9/10
- Meaning
- 4.2/10
- Work-life balance
- 3.8/10
- Prestige
- 7.5/10
- Social perception
- High