5 Free AI & Data Science Certifications That Pay $100,000+ In 2025 (2025)

5 Free AI & Data Science Certifications That Pay $100,000+ In 2025 (1)

Data science roles will spike by 36% over the next few years

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AI is projected to add another $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, according to PwC. That's literally five years from now.

And the core function that’s fueling this growth? Data science.

Professionals with strong data science skills will help power the new AI revolution, because after all, large language models (LLMs) rely on expansive datasets. To be at the forefront of this whirlwind of change, and be able to profit from it, it’s essential to start building data science and analysis skills now.

Jobs You Can Get With Data Science/Data Analysis Skills

Data science skills are useful for roles, freelance and employed, such as:

  • Data analyst
  • Data scientist
  • Project manager
  • Product manager
  • AI/ML engineer
  • Business analyst
  • Business intelligence analyst/specialist
  • Financial analyst
  • …and tons of other roles that require data science skills in some way or another.

Most of these jobs pay upwards of $100,000 a year. And if you possess exceptional expertise, you could get hired on niche, vetted freelance platforms, like Toptal, and join the vetted group of top 1% of freelancers on platforms like Upwork.

For example:

Data scientist average salary: $118,398

MORE FOR YOU

BI Analyst average salary: $111,845

5 Free Certificates To Learn AI And Data Science Skills

  1. IBM SkillsBuild Data Analytics Free Certificate
  2. Kaggle Data Visualization Free Certificate
  3. Kaggle Intro to SQL Free Certificate
  4. Kaggle Advanced SQL Free Certificate
  5. Kaggle Intro to AI Ethics Free Certificate

Why Should You Study Data Science?

The discipline of data science in itself is a high-income industry. The BLS predicts strong job projections with up to 36% higher demand and increased job vacancies up to the year 2033, which is higher than the average job growth rate.

Apart from the obvious high salaries to be obtained, here are some other reasons you should pursue learning data science skills:

1. You Learn Power Skills

Previously referred to as soft skills, power skills are the skills needed to thrive in today’s workforce. They are easily transferable across roles and industries and are in demand regardless of your professional specialism. Power skills have a longer lifetime than technical skills like AI, and are highly sought-after by employers. Some power skills you learn through data analysis and data science include problem-solving and critical analysis/analytical thinking.

2. It Future-Proofs Your Career

Data science and analysis skills are in strong demand because data lies at the core of every business’s operations. They handle copious amounts of customer data, engagement data, market data, and internal business data, and they must identify trends and patterns to be able to make concrete data-backed decisions and strategies. This is where your data science skills play an integral role.

3. You Have Several Career Options

As mentioned above, data science skills are useful across a variety of job titles, roles, and industries, so you’ll find yourself in strong demand and have more options to pick a role that suits your interests. And let’s not forget, you cab work on lucrative freelance projects as a consultant too.

Data analysis skills help you develop problem-solving and analytical thinking

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If you’re eager to propel your career, start with any of these courses right now. There’s nothing stopping you from enrolling and completing the course, except yourself. And once you’ve completed one certification, explore other, complementary, related courses and certificates to deepen your expertise and expand your skill set.

5 Free AI & Data Science Certifications That Pay $100,000+ In 2025 (2025)

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