Data Scientist / Data Engineer
Your data skills open doors at Germany's largest companies, in teams that are often international.
The profession
You analyse data and build models and data pipelines to support the company's decisions.
Salary
Data Scientist: about 4,675 €/month on average (range 3,983 to 5,541 €), entry level about 4,500 €/month. Data Engineer, higher: about 4,991 €/month on average (range 4,333 to 5,941 €) (source: StepStone, 2025).
Employers hiring
Zalando, Delivery Hero, SAP, Siemens, Bosch, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Allianz and the banks hire regularly.
Prospects
Prospects are strong and growing, driven by artificial intelligence and data-driven decision making.
Career progression
You can move up to senior data scientist, ML engineer, then head of data and analytics.
Language level
English is generally enough, as teams are often international, but German makes your integration easier.
Diploma recognition
In IT, formal recognition of your diploma is most often not required to work in Germany. A solid degree or solid experience makes the EU Blue Card easier; we assess your profile, your qualifications and your experience.
Visa
The 2025 EU Blue Card requires a gross salary of about 48,300 € per year (general threshold) or about 43,760 € per year for shortage occupations such as IT (source: immigration law firms, 2025). IT specialists without a university degree can obtain it with at least 3 years of comparable experience and an offer meeting the reduced threshold. The Chancenkarte (opportunity card) lets you come to look for a qualified job for up to one year. We check your eligibility and build the application with you.
Your Karriere Fähre support
We train you in German up to the useful level, present your profile to German employers, prepare the visa application and support you until you are settled.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need German for a data role?
- English is often enough because data teams are international, but good German widens your options and eases daily life.
- Data Scientist or Data Engineer, which pays more?
- The Data Engineer role pays slightly more on average, about 4,991 €/month against about 4,675 €/month for the Data Scientist (source: StepStone, 2025).
Indicative gross ranges from public German sources (StepStone, Gehalt.de, Federal Employment Agency, Bitkom, IHK). Salary portals differ and update their data; real figures depend on region, employer, collective agreement and experience. Visa rules change: always check your case with the competent German authorities.