The Kolesa Group conducted the third study of the Kazakhstani market of data professions and revealed key trends: salaries, motivation when choosing a job and working conditions.

The goal is to understand current market trends: salaries, motivation when choosing a job, working conditions, and share the results with the market. We compared the indicators of 2024 with 2021.

Data analysts and engineers help companies find hidden opportunities in huge amounts of data. Their ability to build models and forecasts based on data helps to optimize processes, reduce costs and increase revenue. In Kazakhstan, the number of data analysts also shows dynamics. The Kolesa Group decided to figure out what the data direction is in Kazakhstan today. Experts in this field in Kazakhstan are playing an increasingly important role in this process.

Data collection methodology

An internal database of data specialists was used for the survey, as well as responses from respondents in professional communities and social networks. To obtain objective data, the database was cleared of outliers and omissions, the response rate was used, metrics of the central trend were calculated, the spread of indicators and quantiles of various levels were analyzed. 420 people participated in the survey. 

Portrait of the respondent

The median respondent is a man, 26 years old. He is a data analyst at a Kazakh fintech company. He works for hire in the office. The company has a grading system. Now his grade is middle.The salary is 700 thousand tenge, reviewed every six months. He considers it objective, and bonuses in the company are paid annually. Experience working with data — from 3 to 5 years. During this time, he changed jobs twice.

The share of girls in data professions has increased by 2% compared to 2021.

The profession has matured: there are 15% more specialists aged 26-30.

The share of specialists in Almaty and Astana increased by 6%.

In three years, the total work experience of analysts has also increased. The number of specialists with 3 to 5 years of experience increased from 38% to 49%.

Salaries and employer selection factors

As part of the study, the Kolesa Group divided the data professions market into several large areas. And they deduced the average monthly salary for each of them:

• Data Science — 825,000 tenge, median — 1,099,576 tenge;
• Data Analysis — 650,000 tenge, median — 857,485 tenge;• DWH — 824,000 tenge, median — 1,081,145 tenge;
• ML — 1,350,000 tenge, median — 1,600,769 tenge;
• BI — 650,000 tenge, median — 726,639 tenge;
• Other — 925,000 tenge, median — 929,180 tenge.

Note: the dots on the graph are isolated cases where the salary is higher.

Results

1. Over the past three years, the average salary has increased by about 40%.

2. There are 17% more analysts working in fintech companies.

3. It is possible to work remotely (42%) has become more appreciated by respondents than the corporate culture of the company (35%).

The full study for 2024 is available here.The results of the study for 2021.