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IT skill · Domain· AI & Machine Learning

Data Science freelancers:
What the market really pays and wants.

Demand and trends for Data Science – calculated from 33 real project and job postings of the last 90 days. No survey, no guesswork without data.

As of: week 41/2026 · updated weekly
Listings (90 d)
33
Rank 474 of 532 skills
Trend (90 d)
▼ 28 %
Market share compared with the 90 days before. IT postings overall: ▲ 40 %
Of which must-have
52 %
Rated for 33 postings (AI analysis), otherwise “nice to have”
The jury's verdict on Data Science

A shrinking market.

Data Science sits at rank 474 of 532, rather at the edge of demand. Its market share is falling (▼ 28 % vs. the 90 days before).

Small marketRank 474 of 532 skills, 33 postings in 90 days.
Shrinking marketMarket share ▼ 28 % vs. the 90 days before.
And how does your Data Science profile look?Check it for free

What is Data Science – and why do companies hire Data Science freelancers?

The postings that mention Data Science fall into these types of project (share of the classified postings):

Data and AI88 %
Data platforms, analytics and AI solutions with Data Science.
Consulting and design12 %
Consulting, concept work, architecture and project leadership around Data Science.

Typical roles

The roles hired most often are Data Scientist (76 %) and Data Engineer (9 %). Of the postings that state an experience level, 67 % explicitly ask for senior profiles.

How demand is shifting

Compared with the previous quarter, the share of “Consulting and design” grows by 9 percentage points while “Data and AI” falls by 3 percentage points.

Who wants Data Science – and under which conditions

Seniority

Senior67 %
Mid-level24 %
Junior6 %

Senior dominates (67 %). Pure junior roles are rare (6 %).

Stated in 100 % of listings

Contract type

Freelance76 %
Permanent24 %

Freelance dominates (76 %).

Stated in 100 % of listings

Project language

German88 %
English12 %

German dominates (88 %).

Stated in 100 % of listings

Current Data Science projects

Methodology: We count IT postings of the last 90 days that mention Data Science. Projects posted several times that are detected as duplicates count once; postings without an assignable IT category are missing, so the figures are a lower bound. The trend compares the share of all IT postings with the 90 days before and only appears with enough comparison data. We do not show figures based on fewer than 30 data points. The rating “must have” or “nice to have” comes from an AI analysis of the posting texts. Distributions only refer to postings that state the respective attribute; we state the coverage alongside. An AI assigns the project type and role of each posting from its title, category and skills; the shares are counted postings, not estimates, and only appear with enough classified postings.

Basis: 10,534 IT listings in the window

You now know the Data Science market.
Now let the jury judge your profile.

Your CV against 33 Data Science listings – with findings, strengths and an hourly-rate check.

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