Side-by-side distribution
Data Scientist
$190,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 42.8%
- Live roles
- 1,661
Penetration Tester
$180,000
median · per year, annualized USD
- Disclosing
- 32.9%
- Live roles
- 70
Highest-paying jobs
Data Scientist
Senior Data Scientist (Credit)
Senior Data Scientist (Credit)
Senior Data Scientist (Credit)
Data Scientist, Identity
Data Scientist
Applied Scientist, Experimentation
Data Scientist, Supply
Data Scientist, Developer Productivity
Machine Learning Scientist
Highest-paying jobs
Offensive Security Engineer, Agent Products
Offensive Hardware Security Engineer, Platform Security
Member of Technical Staff (Offensive Security Engineer)
Principal Offensive Security Engineer
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Staff Offensive Security Engineer
Senior Information Security Engineer, Offensive Security
Penetration Tester
WebApp Offensive Security Software Engineer
Offensive Security Engineer
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
Launch Potato
|
$187,500 | 24 |
| GR GRVTY | $170,000 | 17 |
Lyft
|
$153,200 | 15 |
Pinterest
|
$213,757 | 13 |
Roblox
|
$293,245 | 11 |
Reddit
|
$260,450 | 10 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$157,675 | 10 |
|
OpenAI
|
$309,000 | 9 |
Top companies hiring
| Company | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| GR GRVTY | $215,000 | 2 |
|
Robinhood
|
$191,444 | 2 |
|
Accenture Federal Services
|
$174,200 | 2 |
M9 Solutions
|
$120,000 | 2 |
TP-Link Systems Inc.
|
$106,000 | 2 |
|
OpenAI
|
$418,500 | 1 |
|
Anthropic
|
$362,500 | 1 |
|
Perplexity
|
$312,500 | 1 |
Data Scientist salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| San Francisco | $212,500 | 161 |
| Seattle | $191,500 | 46 |
| New York | $190,000 | 139 |
| Los Angeles | $187,500 | 17 |
| Austin | $187,500 | 9 |
| Denver | $187,500 | 6 |
| Boston | $181,250 | 30 |
| London | $160,895 | 21 |
| Chicago | $153,300 | 21 |
| Toronto | $151,200 | 29 |
Penetration Tester salary by location
| Location | Median | Roles |
|---|---|---|
| Seattle | $362,500 | 3 |
| San Francisco | $312,500 | 5 |
| New York | $236,000 | 7 |
Data Scientist vs Penetration Tester: which pays more?
The median for Data Scientist is $190,000 per year (typically $149,750–$230,000), versus $180,000 for Penetration Tester ($136,250–$218,250). That puts Data Scientist about 6% ahead at the median.
Both figures are computed live from active listings on JobsRadar and normalized to annualized USD, so Data Scientist and Penetration Tester are compared on equal terms regardless of the currency each role was originally posted in. Only roles that publish a salary range feed the medians; numbers refresh every few hours as new roles post and older ones close, so this comparison reflects the market right now rather than a fixed survey. Use it as a directional benchmark when weighing one path against the other.