Startups in India pay huge salaries to attract talented data scientists: Report

Unlike large companies, which pay around Rs 9.6 lakh, Indian startups are willing to pay over Rs.10.8 lakh per annum to attract the best talent in the analytics industry, according to the Analytics and Big Data Salary Report 2016 by Jigsaw Academy and Analytics Vidhya. The report’s findings were based on information collected from 60,000+ analytics professionals with advanced analytics / data science skills. According to the report, analysts experience the biggest jump in salaries once they have clocked five years in the industry, and can expect a raise of up to 70% with an average pay of Rs 12.3 lakh p.a. The Analytics & Big Data sector has seen consistent growth over the last five years despite an increasingly uncertain global outlook. The market for advanced analytics is expected to grow at a CAGR of 33.2% and Big Data at a CAGR of 26.4%, almost six to eight times that of the overall IT market. Commenting on the report findings, CEO of Jigsaw Academy Gaurav Vohra observed that, “The demand for data professionals has grown but a corresponding surge in supply has failed to happen. Experts estimate a shortfall of approximately 200, 000 data analysts in India by 2018. The extremely competitive pay scales reflect this incongruity. In 2005 entry level salaries were around 2-4 lakh per year but today, pay scales have gone up phenomenally. Demand for big data and analytics professionals is rising because both domestic and international companies are relying upon India for the right talent. With data being generated at such a furious pace, I don’t see the demand for big data analysis—or analysts—slowing down any time soon.” According to Gaurav Vohra, the start-up ecosystem is responsible for the creation of over 30,000 analytics & Big Data jobs every year across India. Being the startup capital of India, Bangalore sees at least 10,000 jobs being created in the data analytics sector annually, followed by Delhi with around 7000 jobs and Mumbai, with approximately 4000 jobs. Puneet Gambhir, a key member of the Analytics Leadership at Flipkart, said “We are assiduously building up the analytics talent pool within Flipkart. Analytics enables us to create better and differentiated experiences for our customers at all touch-points of our business and hence the need to shore up on such skillsets.” Commenting on the report Kunal Jain, Founder & CEO of Analytics Vidhya said, “This is one of the most exciting times to be alive for data science professionals. We are standing at an inflection point in history, after which analytics and data science will become an integral part of any product or service available. Our community comprises thousands of data scientists and we regularly look for trends in the industry. We are excited to release these findings for the benefit of a larger audience and hope that this helps people make the right career choices.” T.V. Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services said that “Analytics is one of the most important skills required in today’s professionals. Having analytics as a part of their skill portfolio will allow these professionals to easily scoop up the most lucrative jobs, as the market is hungry for such trained talent.” Other key highlights of the report: - Kolkata seems to be a clear winner for analysts, earnings-wise, when their salaries are adjusted to the cost of living. They enjoy a better quality of life here than in other cities. The average pay for analysts in Kolkata is projected to be Rs 9.35 lakh per annum - Companies today are looking for employees who have knowledge of multiple tools. The highest recorded salary for 2015-2016 is Rs 12.75 lakh p.a., the recipients of which are analysts with knowledge of more than one of these tools–SPSS, SAS, R & Python - Companies are keen to hire individuals with business acumen and experience, which means that an MBA alone won’t cut it. Candidates are also expected to know analytics to successfully land analytics/Big Data jobs - R remains the front-runner in the analytics race with salary packages of Rs.10.2 lakh per annum. Python, however, is hot on its heels - Analysts who have Big Data and Data Science skillsets are paid 26% more than analysts with knowledge of just data science or Big Data - Startups seem to be cashing in on professionals with R & SQL skills whereas larger organizations still seem to favour SAS, since they can afford to buy expensive proprietary software