AIM Research, in association with AnalytixLabs, has launched the seventh edition of the annual study of analytics salaries in India — AI & Data Science Salary Study 2021.
 
The AI & Data Science Salary Study is an annual report published by Analytics India Magazine that investigates the salary trends and provides a comprehensive view of the changing landscape of AI and analytics salaries.

About The Study

The 33-page report carries ten sections highlighting salary distribution of analytics professionals across various brackets along with salary trends across cities, experience levels, industries, data science roles, company types, education qualification, gender gap, and tools.
 
Despite the pandemic, the data analytics function is experiencing significant growth. One in five (21%) analytics teams across India witnessed growth in the last 12 months, and the post-pandemic job market saw an upswing of data science jobs. However, the study by AIM in association with AnalytixLabs noted that the median salary of AI and data science professionals in India in 2021 dropped by almost 7% compared to the previous year.
 
The data, collated from various online sources like LinkedIn and online job portals along with group discussions with significant analytics firms, found the median salary of analytics professionals in India dropped from INR 14.4 Lakhs in 2020 per annum to INR 13.4 Lakhs in 2021. The report attributed the drop in salary primarily to the pandemic.
 
“The analytics industry has undergone a seismic change in the last couple of years, and the fat salaries reflect the explosive growth of the sector,” said Bhasker Gupta, Founder & CEO of Analytics India Magazine.
 
“Most of the industries, including AI and data science, were hit hard by the pandemic. However, the analytics industry is in recovery mode, and the median salaries will continue to surge,” he added.
 
The report highlighted the salary cuts across years of experience due to the pandemic. Higher the salary, higher the cut as the median salary of analytics professionals with more than 12 years of experience fell by 6.4% compared to the 0.9% of three to six years experience range.
 
The pandemic set off an avalanche of cyberattacks, which in turn raised the stock of Data Engineers. At the same time, big data became key to keeping the pandemic in check. As a result, data engineers — at INR 14.9 lakhs per annum, and big data specialists — at INR 14.8 lakhs per annum, surpassed AI Engineers’ median salary of INR 14.6 lakhs per annum.
 
The importance of graduating from a top-tier institute stayed relevant even in 2021. An engineering degree from a top-tier college can earn candidates 83.8% more than the average. Similarly, a top-tier institute’s management degree can earn candidates 55.2% more than the average.
 
Meanwhile, the gender pay gap in the Analytics industry remained the same. The average median salary for male analytics professionals stood at INR 14.6 Lakhs per annum compared to INR 10.1 lakhs for women.
 

Key Highlights: 

• The median salary of analytics professionals in India in 2021 is INR 13.4 Lakhs – a 6.9% decline over the 2020 median salary of INR 14.4 Lakhs.
• The proportion of the analytics professionals remains the highest in the entry and middle-income levels (0-6 Lakhs – 38.2% and 6-10 Lakhs – 20.3%).
• 41.5% of all the analytics professionals fall under the higher income level (greater than 10 Lakhs per annum).
• The percentage of analytics professionals with greater than 10 lakh salary was 45.6% in 2020, signifying a decrease in the percentage of professionals in the bracket

Access the complete 33-page report here.