Data Science Job Trends in Scotland

Data Science
UK > Scotland

The table below provides summary statistics and salary benchmarking for jobs advertised in Scotland citing Data Science skills. It covers permanent job vacancies from the 6 months leading up to 2 November 2026, with comparisons to the same periods in the previous two years.

	6 months to 2 Nov 2026	Same period 2025	Same period 2024
Rank	113	127	98
Rank change year-on-year	+14	-29	-2
Permanent jobs citing Data Science	45	19	54
As % of all permanent jobs in Scotland	1.00%	0.70%	1.66%
As % of the Processes & Methodologies category	1.44%	0.78%	1.97%
Number of salaries quoted	17	6	9
10^th Percentile	£56,478	£36,500	£53,500
25^th Percentile	£72,500	£49,060	£55,163
Median annual salary (50^th Percentile)	£75,026	£89,369	£60,000
Median % change year-on-year	-16.05%	+48.95%	-14.98%
75^th Percentile	£100,000	£95,000	£82,500
90^th Percentile	-	£97,500	£86,650
UK median annual salary	£75,000	£71,193	£69,000
% change year-on-year	+5.35%	+3.18%	-3.50%

All Process & Methodology Skills
Scotland

Data Science falls under the Processes and Methodologies category. For comparison with the information above, the following table provides summary statistics for all permanent job vacancies citing process or methodology skills in Scotland.

	6 months to 2 Nov 2026	Same period 2025	Same period 2024
Permanent vacancies citing process or methodology skills	3,118	2,443	2,742
As % of all permanent jobs advertised in Scotland	69.61%	89.78%	84.29%
Number of salaries quoted	1,715	1,087	1,303
10^th Percentile	£30,000	£26,250	£31,250
25^th Percentile	£38,000	£32,000	£40,000
Median annual salary (50^th Percentile)	£55,000	£38,000	£55,000
Median % change year-on-year	+44.74%	-30.91%	+4.76%
75^th Percentile	£70,000	£60,000	£70,000
90^th Percentile	£90,000	£78,790	£82,300
UK median annual salary	£59,000	£54,000	£60,000
% change year-on-year	+9.26%	-10.00%	-

Data Science Job Vacancy Trend in Scotland

Historical trend showing the proportion of permanent IT job postings citing Data Science relative to all permanent IT jobs advertised in Scotland.

Data Science Salary Trend in Scotland

Salary distribution trend for jobs in Scotland citing Data Science.

Data Science Salary Histogram in Scotland

Salary distribution for jobs citing Data Science in Scotland over the 6 months to 2 November 2026.

Salary histogram for Data Science in Scotland

Data Science Job Locations in Scotland

The table below looks at the demand and provides a guide to the median salaries quoted in IT jobs citing Data Science within the Scotland region over the 6 months to 2 November 2026. The 'Rank Change' column provides an indication of the change in demand within each location based on the same 6 month period last year.

Location	Rank Change on Same Period Last Year	Job Ads Past 6 Months	Median Salary Past 6 Months	Median Salary % Change on Same Period Last Year	Live Jobs
Edinburgh	+19	18	£100,000	+11.90%	16
Glasgow	+16	18	£62,000	-38.00%	16
Moray	-	4	£75,000	-
Clackmannanshire	-	2	-	-	2
Aberdeenshire	-	2	-	-	3
West Lothian	-	1	-	-
Data Science UK

Data Science Top 30 Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Scotland

For the 6 months to 2 November 2026, job vacancies citing Data Science also mentioned the following skills and capabilities in order of popularity. The figures indicate the absolute number of co-occurrences and as a proportion of all permanent job ads across the Scotland region citing Data Science.

Rank	Skill	Share	Job Ads
1	AI	64.4%	29
2	Machine Learning	51.1%	23
3	Python	44.4%	20
4	Analytics	37.8%	17
5	Degree	35.6%	16
6	Azure	33.3%	15
6	Continuous Improvement	33.3%	15
8	SQL	31.1%	14
9	Data Pipeline	26.7%	12
9	LLM	26.7%	12
11	Decision-Making	24.4%	11
11	Microsoft	24.4%	11
11	Software Engineering	24.4%	11
14	Data Lake	22.2%	10
14	Test Automation	22.2%	10
16	Databricks	20.0%	9
16	Problem-Solving	20.0%	9
16	Validation	20.0%	9
19	Data Analysis	17.8%	8
19	Data Architecture	17.8%	8
19	Generative AI	17.8%	8
22	Agile	15.6%	7
22	AWS	15.6%	7
22	Computer Science	15.6%	7
22	Data Governance	15.6%	7
26	Azure Certification	13.3%	6
26	Data Quality	13.3%	6
26	Data Warehouse	13.3%	6
26	Java	13.3%	6
26	Prompt Engineering	13.3%	6

Data Science Co-Occurring Skills & Capabilities in Scotland by Category

The table below expands on the one above by listing co-occurrences one category at a time. It covers the same employment type, locality and period, with up to 20 co-occurrences in each category.

Processes & Methodologies

Rank	Skill	Share	Job Ads
1	AI	64.4%	29
2	Machine Learning	51.1%	23
3	Analytics	37.8%	17
4	Continuous Improvement	33.3%	15
5	Data Pipeline	26.7%	12
5	LLM	26.7%	12
7	Decision-Making	24.4%	11
7	Software Engineering	24.4%	11
9	Test Automation	22.2%	10
10	Problem-Solving	20.0%	9
10	Validation	20.0%	9
12	Data Analysis	17.8%	8
12	Data Architecture	17.8%	8
12	Generative AI	17.8%	8
15	Agile	15.6%	7
15	Computer Science	15.6%	7
15	Data Governance	15.6%	7
18	Prompt Engineering	13.3%	6
18	Workflow	13.3%	6
20	Business Intelligence	11.1%	5