Lucia, MSA Class of 2018Since its inception in 2007, the MSA has attained an unparalleled track record for placing graduates in the Analytics professionAre you seeking an education with a strong return on investment that will set you on the right career path? The Master of Science in Analytics (MSA) is a cost-effective program with rapid time to completion and a proven track record. Benchmark studies of starting salaries and placement rates show MSA student outcomes rival, if not surpass those of comparable programs at other leading universities. The ROI payback period is estimated to be two years on average.

Professional development and career services are an integral part of the MSA experience, including assistance with resume writing, interview and presentation skills, and professional networking. All career services are staffed and coordinated by the Institute and provided exclusively to MSA students. Dozens of employers visit the Institute each semester with the sole purpose of interviewing our students. Most job interviews are conducted on campus and arranged with the assistance of the Institute.

If becoming a data scientist is your aspiration, let your choice of where to study be a data-driven decision. The Institute was founded on a principle of transparency in providing prospective applicants with relevant data on student outcomes. We believe in letting the numbers speak for themselves. The employment report is a complete and carefully curated census of our annual placement results. It is published promptly upon graduation each year. We invite you to download the employment report and to inquire with any questions you may have about it.

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Samantha and Iqra, MSA Class of 2020

MSA EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES
Reported as of May 17, 2021 (graduation)
Total number of graduates (95% degree completion rate):
 118
Graduates seeking new employment:
 116
Candidates employed at graduation:
 108
Placement rate at graduation:
 92%
Average base salary:
 $97,200
Median net increase in earnings:
 70%
Estimated ROI payback period:
 25 months
Number of reported job offers:
 165
Job placements based in North Carolina:
 48%
Job placements based in U.S.:
 100%
Candidates reporting job offer data:
 100%

Placement Highlights

ANNUAL BASE SALARY
SIGNING BONUS
Experience Level: All 0 Years 1-2 Years 3+ Years All
Mean:
 $97,200 $91,000 $99,200 $105,300 $10,250
Maximum:
 $125,000 $118,000 $125,000 $125,000 $25,000
75th Percentile:
 $105,000 $100,000 $110,000 $115,000 $13,200
Median:
 $98,500 $90,000 $100,000 $105,000 $10,000
25th Percentile:
 $85,000 $85,000 $90,000 $100,000 $7,250
Minimum:
 $65,000 $65,000 $77,500 $84,000 $3,000
N:
 106 49 25 32 71
% Reporting:
 100% 46% 24% 30% 67%

Katie and Heqing, MSA Class of 2020

EMPLOYERS MAKING OFFERS
Accenture AI
Agoda
Align Technology
Ally
American Express
Ankura
Bain & Company*
Banking Policy Institute
Beghou Consulting
Cherry Bekaert
Cigna
Cisco Systems
Coastal Cloud
Deloitte*
DISH Network
Dividend Finance
Duke Clinical Research Institute
Duke University
Elder Research
Elevate Credit*
EY*
Fidelity Investments*
Fifth Third Bank*
Food Bank of Eastern and Central NC
General Motors
GoDaddy
Guidehouse*
Hazen and Sawyer		 IBM
John Deere
JPMorgan Chase*
KPMG
LendingTree*
Locus Biosciences
Martin Marietta
Mission Services
Ocean Media
Pendo*
Peraton
PwC
Q2 (PrecisionLender)
Red Hat
SAS*
Siemens Healthineers
State Farm
Target RWE/NoviSci
The Financial Risk Group*
The Home Depot*
TruDataRx
Truist*
University of California, San Francisco
VitalFlo
Wake Forest Baptist Health
Wellnecity
Wells Fargo
Bold denotes employers that succeeded in hiring one or more candidates, and (*) for employers that hired more than one candidate. The list does not include agencies of the federal government making conditional offers of employment.

Notes: Data with respect to salaries and bonuses are self-reported by graduates (without anonymity) and whenever possible verified by employers in cases where placement is arranged by the Institute (i.e., most candidates). Two graduates returned to prior employers. Two graduates will enter a paid, employer-sponsored training program for one year before entering regular full-time employment. All other job placements are full-time paid positions.

Data are made public here to guide prospective students and employers. Annual base salary figures do not include signing bonuses, relocation allowances or other forms of one-time compensation guaranteed upon signing. Conditional job offers (i.e., those requiring security clearance prior to employment) or other public sector employment are not included in salary data. As a STEM-qualified degree, international MSA graduates are eligible for Optional Practical Training (OPT). Commencement is typically held on the first Saturday in May.

DISCLAIMER: The Institute has a proven track record for placing graduates in the analytics profession, but it does not under any circumstance offer a guarantee of employment upon completion of the MSA degree.

Types of Positions Filled

Data Scientist Job Tracker

The following chart provides real-time data on the number of job postings in the U.S. for entry-level data scientists with salaries of $80,000 or higher posted in the past 30-days. While “data scientist” job openings are only a subset of a larger category of positions for which our students typically qualify (download the MSA Employment Report for more details), the data may provide a good barometer of the overall employment conditions for analytics professionals. It’s to be expected the trend in job postings will have seasonality.

Many articles written about the abundance of high-paying jobs for data scientists typically overestimate the number of openings by reporting all posted open positions. By restricting search queries to entry-level positions, recently posted (within 30-days), and with an expected salary level above $80,000 (M.S. or Ph.D. required), the data here provide a more accurate estimate of the employment market facing new graduates from masters programs. Our research shows that a naive query (without restrictions) will overestimate the number of open positions by a factor of ten. (See more data highlighting the employment market for data scientists.)

Annual Employment Report

Employment reports for each graduating class provide additional information about hiring employers and types of positions filled.

Dr. Villanes and Sam, MSA Class of 2020