2026 comparison
Industrial Engineer vs Data Scientist salary in South Africa
Higher paying career: Data Scientist. Approximate monthly difference: R15 000.
Entry, mid, senior pay, demand, difficulty and long-term career upside.
Industrial Engineer
High demand · BEng / BSc Industrial Engineering
EntryR26 000
MidR60 000
SeniorR95 000
Top 20%R145 000
Data Scientist
High demand · Degree in Stats, Maths, CS or related
EntryR30 000
MidR70 000
SeniorR110 000
Top 20%R180 000
Salary breakdown
Entry
R26 000
R30 000
Mid
R60 000
R70 000
Senior
R95 000
R110 000
Top 20%
R145 000
R180 000
Demand
Industrial Engineer8/10
Data Scientist9/10
Difficulty
Industrial Engineer7/10
Data Scientist8/10
Salary difference
+R15 000
Compare the Data Scientist salary in South Africa with how much Industrial Engineers earn at senior level.
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Higher paying career: Data Scientist. The senior-level gap is about R15 000 per month, based on R110 000 for Data Scientist compared with R95 000 for Industrial Engineer.
Career alternatives
Higher earning
Data Scientist
Easier entry
Industrial Engineer
Better long-term
Data Scientist
Skills / requirements
Process improvement
Industrial Engineer needs this
Less central
Data analysis
Industrial Engineer needs this
Less central
SQL
Industrial Engineer needs this
Data Scientist needs this
Project management
Industrial Engineer needs this
Less central
Python / Pandas
Less central
Data Scientist needs this
Machine learning
Less central
Data Scientist needs this
Career progression
Industrial Engineer
Graduate Industrial EngineerR32 000
Industrial EngineerR60 000
Senior Industrial EngineerR95 000
Operations ManagerR120 000
Data Scientist
Junior Data ScientistR38 000
Data ScientistR70 000
Senior Data ScientistR110 000
Lead / ML EngineerR140 000
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