Data Scientist Salary Negotiation: How To Negotiate a Data Scientist Job Offer
If you’re currently interviewing for a data scientist role or you’ve already received a job offer in data science, it’s time to prepare for your job offer negotiation. Negotiating your job offer is important because it increases your chances of securing competitive compensation. Even though companies are known to offer high compensation for data scientist roles off the bat, it’s still possible—and well worth your time—to negotiate a higher job offer.
This article outlines how to negotiate a data scientist job offer using The Salary Negotiator’s proven job offer negotiation strategy. In addition to our help with product manager, software engineer, and solution architect salary negotiations, we’ve had great success helping data scientists negotiate job offers with a variety of tech companies.
If you’re looking for specific advice from a salary negotiation professional on your data scientist salary negotiation, connect with Our Team.
Take our Salary Negotiation Courses or download our Salary Negotiation Templates to receive our strategies, preparing you for all aspects of a data scientist salary negotiation.
Understanding the Compensation Components of a Data Scientist Job Offer
Whether you’re a junior data scientist, data scientist, senior data scientist, or principal data scientist, you possess a highly sought-after skillset that makes data science salaries competitive. However, it's still important to know what the company is willing to pay for the role you've been recruited for.
When you receive a job offer in data science, it will include multiple compensation components that make up your total yearly compensation. Understanding each of these components before you start negotiating can boost your chances of increasing your whole compensation package.
The base salary is the number most people focus on when they receive an offer, but it’s only one part of your overall compensation. In the tech industry, most data scientists also receive a yearly performance bonus, an initial equity grant, a sign-on bonus (this is negotiable), and other benefits like health insurance and remote work flexibility. It’s important to consider all of these components when evaluating the compensation in your data scientist job offer.
For example, here is what the total compensation of a Data Scientist Level 4 (ICT4) at Apple may look like in their initial offer:
Apple Data Scientist Salary
Data Scientist Base Salary
The first component of your offer will be the data scientist base salary, which is the fixed guaranteed pay—paid biweekly or monthly in the United States—you receive in exchange for the work you do. Your base salary is not tied to your performance.
Each data science role level will have a base pay range with a set minimum and maximum amount. For example, a senior data scientist will have a different base salary than a principal data scientist salary or data science manager salary at the same company. Rarely will the initial offer come in at the top of the pay band, so your goal is to determine the compensation range so you can negotiate at the top end of that pay band.
Data Scientist Performance Bonus
Most data scientist job offers include a yearly performance bonus, which is usually a percentage of your base salary and is based on both personal and company performance. The target percentage ranges depend on your job level in data science, and while it’s possible to exceed most target percentages if you and the company outperform your goals, it’s best to assume the average payout when evaluating this component.
This is a sizeable sum that makes a big difference in a data scientist's total yearly compensation, but in most cases, we have found it to be non-negotiable, and there’s often a set target percentage for all data scientists bonuses depending on their role level. That said, since it’s usually a percentage of your base, this metric will increase your total compensation if you negotiate a higher base salary.
Data Scientist Initial Equity Package
Equity is a key component of many data scientist salaries, and many individuals seek it in their job offers. A data scientist may receive an initial equity grant in their job offer, which can be offered either as restricted stock (restricted stock units or restricted stock awards) or stock options. This grant will include a bundle of shares or options that vest over a defined timeframe (i.e., four years), called a vesting schedule. Equity is most common in job offers from tech companies, but most startups and many public companies offer it as well. We believe it’s always smart to push for more equity to ensure you reach the top end of the total compensation pay band.
Equity can be an extremely valuable form of compensation, but it does fluctuate based on the market value of the company. You’ll benefit if the company's share value goes up, but you’ll take a loss if the share value goes down. Regardless of that risk, the greatest consequence with equity is that you forgo it if you leave the company before the equity vests.
Data Scientist Sign-on Bonus
Companies are generous with sign-on bonuses for data scientists, which is a one-time bonus that new employees receive as an incentive to join the company and cover any lost bonuses or unvested equity that they may give up at their current company. In our experience, we’ve found that not all companies provide a signing bonus in the initial offer, so you may need to negotiate to receive this component. We’ve helped many data scientists receive a signing bonus by negotiating.
Even if you don’t have a competing offer or you’re not walking away from money at your current company, you can—and should—still negotiate for a data scientist sign-on bonus. Most sign-on bonuses are paid in one lump sum within the first 30 days, but there are payback conditions tied to it—meaning you’ll need to pay back the bonus if you depart the company within the first year. Some companies approach it differently: Amazon includes a sign-on bonus in year one and year two, which is paid out monthly instead of in one lump sum payment.
Data Scientist Equity Refresher
Some companies will offer an equity refresher (more stock) to data scientists, but most recruiters usually withhold when this refresher will take place and the expected yearly amount. This is common for equity refreshers at Meta and other companies that offer this perk. During the negotiation, you should ask the recruiter to share more information about the amount and timeline of the equity refresher. Because most recruiters shy away from the specific details—making it hard to compare across data science offers—we don’t include this compensation item in our total compensation calculation.
Benefits and Perks for a Data Scientist
Companies are known for the benefits and perks they offer, whether that includes health insurance, a top-tier 401k plan, relocation assistance, fitness stipends, or even free food. While it depends on the company, we have not found that benefits and perks for data scientists are negotiable unless it is an under-the-table agreement with your hiring manager (i.e., your manager will let you take more vacation).
That being said, a top attraction to most data science roles is the ability to work remotely, which has become a common component to negotiate and should be brought up during the interview process.
Five Key Steps to Negotiate a Data Scientist Job Offer
It's important to understand how to negotiate your data scientist salary so you can increase your chance of success.
Based on our experience helping hundreds of clients successfully negotiate their job offers, it’s best to avoid starting the data scientist salary negotiation until you have an offer in hand; this gives you more leverage to negotiate. Below, we’ve identified five essential steps to negotiate a data scientist job offer.
If you’re looking for personalized advice, reach out to our team for a consultation.
1) Understand the Components of Your Data Scientist Job Offer
This first step is straightforward since we’ve already reviewed the components of a data scientist job offer: base salary, performance bonus, initial equity grant, sign-on bonus, and any benefits and perks. Understanding your total compensation is the first, and arguably most important, step.
2) Complete Due Diligence on Your Data Scientist Salary by Asking the Right Questions
Every recruiter takes note when a data scientist asks good questions that are role- and company-specific. Why? It shows you’re interested and it helps you develop an effective and successful counteroffer by getting clarification on items that the recruiter may have been vague about (i.e., What is the expected target bonus payout this year for this team?). Don’t skip this step!
Even if you think you already understand all aspects of the data scientist salary package, asking for more information will strengthen your counteroffer. As a data scientist, you understand that every data point counts, so make sure you start this phase of the negotiation right after you receive the initial offer. You can use our list of Strategic Questions to Build Negotiation Leverage if you need help finding the right questions to ask about your job offer.
3) Research to Identify What Your Data Scientist Compensation Should Look Like
This step, researching and compiling data, is the one that most data scientists shine in. The compensation for data scientists will differ across companies, so it’s important to conduct compensation research to understand the data scientist pay range, the strength of your offer, and how much you should ask for. To ensure accuracy, you’ll need to assess the specific role level (i.e., is it a senior data scientist or principal data scientist) and where it’s located, whether that be in-person or remote.
There are many resources available to help you determine the appropriate data science salary, such as Payscale or your cities Built In, but be sure to compare data across multiple resources. Pay ranges on these sites are publicly reported by current/past employees, so the pay may differ from what they may offer new employees (i.e., the current employees’ total compensation is higher because the stock price appreciated and their equity is more valuable), and it might be inaccurate if the employee didn’t correctly share all compensation components. You can download our Total Compensation Research Comparison Tool to help you with your compensation research.
As a data scientist, you’ll want to push for at least the mid- to top-end of the total compensation range for your data science role level—regardless of your experience or background.
4) Send a Data Scientist Counteroffer to the Recruiter
This step is where the data scientist salary negotiation officially kicks off! Once you’ve completed prepping for the data scientist salary negotiation (the first three steps), you’re ready to send a data scientist counteroffer.
In this step, you’ll present your ask to the recruiter by referencing your data on the pay range and how the benefits differ from other companies and/or your current role. This can be done over the phone, but we strongly recommend doing this via email so you can draft exactly what you want to say, so you don’t risk going off-topic, and so you have everything in writing. Presenting your counteroffer through email also gives the recruiter forward-able information that they can use internally to get you a higher offer.
Just remember to always approach this step professionally and courteously. To ensure proper communication, use our Counteroffer Drafts for examples if you need help formulating a strategic counteroffer.
5) Handle Any Objections and Accept Knowing You Achieved the Best Data Scientist Salary
Sometimes it only takes one counteroffer and the recruiter will respond with an updated offer package. Usually, though, you’ll receive reasons from the recruiter for why they can’t make any increases to the data scientist salary.
To handle an objection from a recruiter, respond calmly by stating you understand their constraints, but you would appreciate it if they can take your thoughts back to their team for one last look at the offer. Do this even if they insist their team will just say no and follow our objection handling scripts if needed.
You may have to handle a few objections, but once they agree to take it back to their team, they should come back with an improved offer.
Once you receive a negotiated data science job offer that fits your personal needs and matches the data scientist pay bands you researched, you should be ready to send an offer acceptance email and start planning the transition to the new company. Congratulations on your successful data scientist salary negotiation!
Negotiation Mistakes to Avoid During your Data Scientist Salary Negotiation
Recruiters are trained to get the best deal for the company. This doesn’t mean they’re going to lowball you, but they have a few tricks to get you to accept without negotiating for higher compensation. Below, we share the key mistakes to avoid during a data scientist salary negotiation.
Avoid Sharing Salary Expectations Before You Get a Job Offer in Data Science
In our experience, sharing your salary expectations can work against you in receiving a fair job offer in data science so avoid it by answering like this.
If you share a lower compensation than what they could offer, they are more likely to offer you that low compensation. If you share a number higher than what they could offer, there is a chance that they could become disinterested and decide to go with a different candidate. Remember that recruiters are working for the company, not you. Lastly, it doesn’t make sense to discuss compensation before you learn more about the specific role, their benefits and compensation, and whether those aspects feel like a good fit for you. After all, you’re also interviewing them to see if this role and company are a good fit.
Don't Be Afraid to Negotiate as a Data Scientist
Many people are afraid to negotiate out of fear of offending the recruiting team or losing the job offer— especially since the data scientist interview process can take a lot of time. But we’ve helped facilitate hundreds of successful salary negotiations, and we’ve never seen a company pull a data scientist job offer because they tried to negotiate. It's generally expected, regardless of the role level—whether it’s an individual contributor, manager data science, director data science salary, or a VP data science salary—you should negotiate your salary.
Don’t let salary negotiation myths or hearsay talk you out of advocating for the compensation you deserve.
Be Realistic by Doing Your Research
While data science roles pay well, it’s important to be realistic about what compensation is possible for the specific job offer you received. Use your data science skills to research what’s included in your total compensation and what the company pays for the data science role so you know what to expect and ensure you only push for compensation that the company can realistically provide. For example, the entry level data scientist salary would be different at a start-up or non-tech company compared to what a data scientist may see during a Microsoft salary negotiation or Google salary negotiation.
The Bottom Line
All data scientists can—and should—negotiate their job offer to receive a competitive compensation package and increase their overall career earnings. Following our proven salary negotiation strategy for data scientists will help you navigate this negotiation with confidence and ease.
If you want personalized advice on your data scientist salary negotiation from one of our professional salary negotiation coaches, Book a Consultation. Our experience helping negotiate data science job offers will help you get the compensation you deserve.
We also have our How to Negotiate Your Job Offer and How to Negotiate Your Current Salary courses, and Salary Negotiation Templates for those who want to learn at their own pace and gain the confidence and tools to negotiate their compensation. With downloadable email templates and job offer negotiation resources you will be prepared for all aspects of a data science salary negotiation.