Like other big data jobs, data engineers are sought-after profiles on the Canadian job market. With complementary missions to those of the data scientist, the salaries of these two professions are significantly correlated.
According to the barometer of the job platform Glassdoor, the average salary of a Data Engineer in Canada in 2023 is $91,600 per year. Note that the average additional cash compensation is $8,690, including bonuses and profit sharing. This salary estimate is based on the submission of payrolls from 936 Data Engineers across Canada. This average corresponds to the actual market. However, your salary may vary depending on many factors such as your experience, skills and the city you work in. Find out how these parameters can impact your salary and how you can increase your wage.
Factors of variation in the salaries of Data Engineers
Now that we know that Data Engineers earn an average salary of $91,600 with additional cash compensation of over $8,600, it is time to say that this depends on certain parameters. Note that this amount could be different between an entry-level data engineer working in a small town compared to a 15 years experienced data engineer working in a large company in Toronto.
Data Engineer salary by skills
Skills are obviously of major importance in the salary of a Data Engineer. Like all professionals, the more skills you have, the better you get paid. In the field of Data, the key skills lie in the participation in certain projects and the knowledge of technical languages. Data Engineers with Apache Spark skills, for example, tend to be paid more than other professionals in the industry.
Improving your skills is also a matter of experience: the more projects you take part in, the more you know about the technical aspects of your job. Some training courses can help you develop your skills faster and thus get a better salary.
Data Engineer salary by location
Regardless of the occupation, the salary range is also determined by the city you work in. Indeed, working in major cities or capitals always gives an advantage compared to smaller cities.
The average base salary in Toronto for a Data Engineer is $92,500, with an average cash compensation around $9,000. This is higher than the national average. This difference is also explained by the presence of large companies in Toronto. Jobs are available at Meta, Amazon, IBM and Walmart, to name a few.
Data Engineer salary by experience
How many professional projects have you done? What is your best case study as a Data Engineer? Have you worked with a large company? In an agency? All of these carry a lot of weight for your potential salary with your current employer or your next job. Generally, experience is counted in years. But you can also leverage your background, knowledge and skills to move up the ladder faster than the average person.
Your average salary will vary depending on your experience: an entry-level data engineer will not be paid the same as a mid-level or senior data engineer.
Data Engineer salary vs. Data Scientist salary in Canada
The jobs of Data Scientist and data engineer are often confused with each other. The role of the Data Scientist is to develop predictive models to identify new trends, while the Data Engineer implements and maintains a Big Data architecture within the organization.
Thus, the remuneration of these two jobs are similar. The average salary of a Data Scientist in Canada is $91,200, against $91,600 for a Data Engineer. Note that it is typically easier to find job offers for Data Scientists than for Data Engineers on platforms like Glassdoor or Indeed.
How to increase your salary as a Data Engineer in Canada?
You are a Data Engineer in Canada and you want to increase your salary? As we have seen before, several factors determine your salary. The first one is your skills. You can increase your skill set by participating in new projects, with your experience, but also through training. For example, you can take the official AWS certification. This will allow you to apply to companies that use the AWS cloud.
The second way to increase your salary is to work in a large city like Toronto, Vancouver or Oakville. Large companies are often in demand for profiles such as Data Engineers, offering the possibility to negotiate a better salary.
Conclusion on Data Engineer salary in Canada
The Data Engineer salary in Canada varies depending on the skills, experience and city one works in. You can improve your salary by working in large companies such as Meta, IBM or Amazon. Developing your skills by participating in projects or training is also a great way to increase your salary.
