Occupation salary profile

Computer and Information Research Scientists

SOC 15-1221 BLS OEWS May 2025 H-1B LCAs, last 12 months

Conduct research into fundamental computer and information science as theorists, designers, or inventors. Develop solutions to problems in the field of computer hardware and software.

National median · BLS
$140,300
▼ -0.43% YoY
H-1B sponsor median
$182,000
▲ +1.11% YoY · 3,816 LCAs
Average salary · BLS
$153,930
Mean annual wage
U.S. employment
37,200
Jobs (BLS)
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Enter your pay and a location to see where you stand against BLS and H-1B pay, your estimated take-home pay, and your purchasing power.

Pay range for Computer and Information Research Scientists

Annual base pay at each percentile. BLS covers all U.S. workers in this occupation; H-1B covers 3,816 certified Labor Condition Applications filed by sponsoring employers in the last 12 months.

Percentile All U.S. workers (BLS) H-1B sponsored
10th — entry pay$82,200$120,000
25th$103,570$160,000
Median (50th)$140,300$182,000
75th$188,700$214,032
90th — top pay$230,630$250,370
H-1B sponsors pay a median of $182,000 for Computer and Information Research Scientists — 29.7% above the BLS national median of $140,300.

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Projections 2025–2035

Job outlook for Computer and Information Research Scientists

BLS projects employment of computer and information research scientists to grow 21.8% from 2025 to 2035, faster than the 3.5% average for all occupations. About 2,900 openings are projected each year, on average, from new jobs and from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations.

Jobs 2025 → 2035
38,600 → 47,000
+8,400 jobs
Projected change
+21.8%
All occupations: +3.5%
Openings per year
2,900
Average, 2025–2035
Typical entry education
Master's degree
No related experience required
Preparation needed (O*NET Job Zone 5)
Extensive Preparation Needed. Most of these occupations require graduate school. For example, they may require a master's degree, and some require a Ph.D., M.D., or J.D. (law degree).
Fastest-growing jobs → Best-paying jobs that need a master's degree →

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–2035 · BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook →

H-1B sponsored pay

Pay by H-1B wage level

Employers assign every H-1B filing a Department of Labor prevailing-wage level, from Level I (entry) to Level IV (fully competent). Pay rises steeply with level.

H-1B median $182,000
Change vs prior year +1.11%
After inflation (CPI-U) -1.96%
Wage level LCAs Share P25 Median P75
Level I 491 12.9% $98,984 $142,064 $168,000
Level II 1,417 37.1% $162,400 $182,000 $200,000
Level III 723 18.9% $183,776 $209,500 $225,000
Level IV 529 13.9% $209,082 $245,565 $280,000
H-1B job titles

Salaries by job title in Computer and Information Research Scientists

The 32 most-filed job titles inside SOC 15-1221, from 3,816 H-1B filings. Seniority words and level numbers are grouped (“Senior Data Engineer II” counts as Data Engineer). Tap a title for its full range, wage levels and the exact titles employers used.

Job title LCAs Share P25 Median P75 YoY
Research Scientist 1,088 28.51% $178,360 $196,000 $222,950 +2.13%
Applied Scientist 901 23.61% $162,500 $177,000 $193,200 -1.72%
Research Engineer 128 3.35% $181,500 $200,000 $229,212 +10.65%
Machine Learning Engineer 111 2.91% $143,450 $176,127 $223,565 -2.06%
Member of Technical Staff generic 103 2.7% $185,723 $250,000 $325,000 -21.88%
Applied Science 50 1.31% $172,319 $201,217 $228,500 +23.07%
Data Scientist 46 1.21% $113,693 $141,238 $192,500 -5.3%
Research Scientist/Engineer 37 0.97% $171,621 $201,094 $210,000 +3.13%
Staff Research Scientist 34 0.89% $169,100 $213,202 $250,756 -12.18%
Software Engineer 32 0.84% $156,250 $180,000 $201,278 -0.23%
AI Research Scientist 31 0.81% $184,918 $215,356 $226,948 +11.85%
Applied Researcher 29 0.76% $175,000 $182,683 $200,000 -5.69%
Researcher generic 25 0.66% $150,000 $167,910 $190,000 +1.91%
Computer and Information Research Scientist 24 0.63% $105,825 $145,620 $171,716 +25.98%
AI Engineer 24 0.63% $128,406 $160,900 $201,250 +41.52%
Machine Learning Scientist 24 0.63% $156,603 $194,541 $240,840 +14.44%
AI Scientist 17 0.45% $173,550 $205,000 $260,000 -21.53%
Manager, Applied Science 15 0.39% $183,287 $193,547 $214,760 -12.83%
Postdoctoral Research Associate 15 0.39% $64,491 $78,000 $94,978 +1.96%
Machine Learning Researcher 14 0.37% $139,848 $187,373 $219,024 +33.84%
UX Researcher 14 0.37% $150,000 $193,868 $206,000 +16.63%
AI Researcher 13 0.34% $211,432 $224,682 $330,000 -2.31%
Postdoctoral Researcher 12 0.31% $145,351 $173,000 $173,750 +39.52%
Research Associate 12 0.31% $76,220 $80,018 $103,444 +4.43%
Staff Engineer 12 0.31% $124,892 $172,091 $193,942 -8.15%
Amazon Scholar 12 0.31% $112,378 $129,550 $258,000 —
Hunyuan AIGC Algorithm Researcher World Model Foundation Di 11 0.29% $220,000 $220,000 $220,000 —
Scientist generic 11 0.29% $160,992 $171,558 $173,498 +44.57%
Postdoctoral Research Fellow 11 0.29% $64,147 $70,000 $78,352 +3.7%
Staff Researcher 10 0.26% $111,353 $157,838 $191,372 —
Computer Scientist 10 0.26% $100,000 $105,000 $125,750 -22.85%
Hunyuan Multimodal Algorithm Researcher 10 0.26% $220,000 $220,000 $220,000 —

Titles are cleaned from the employer's own LCA text (codes and typos removed, nothing invented). Rows need 10+ filings in this SOC.

Skills & tools

Skills needed for Computer and Information Research Scientists

How important each skill and knowledge area is for this job, rated by O*NET on a 1–5 scale from surveys of workers and occupational analysts.

Top skills
  • Complex Problem Solving4.0
  • Critical Thinking4.0
  • Judgment and Decision Making4.0
  • Active Listening3.8
  • Reading Comprehension3.8
  • Systems Analysis3.8
  • Programming3.6
  • Systems Evaluation3.6
  • Active Learning3.5
  • Speaking3.5
Top knowledge areas
  • Computers and Electronics4.6
  • Mathematics4.1
  • Engineering and Technology4.0
  • English Language3.9
  • Administration and Management3.3
  • Design3.3
  • Telecommunications3.1
  • Physics2.8
Software and technology used
Amazon Web Services AWS softwareAnsible softwareApache HadoopApache KafkaApache SparkBashCC++DockerGitGitHubGoGrafana Labs Grafana CloudIBM TerraformJavaScriptJenkins CIKubernetesLinux

Highlighted = in demand: frequently listed in employer job postings for this occupation (O*NET).

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.

About the job

What computer and information research scientists do

  • Analyze problems to develop solutions involving computer hardware and software.
  • Apply theoretical expertise and innovation to create or apply new technology, such as adapting principles for applying computers to new uses.
  • Assign or schedule tasks to meet work priorities and goals.
  • Meet with managers, vendors, and others to solicit cooperation and resolve problems.
  • Design computers and the software that runs them.
  • Conduct logical analyses of business, scientific, engineering, and other technical problems, formulating mathematical models of problems for solution by computers.
  • Evaluate project plans and proposals to assess feasibility issues.
  • Participate in multidisciplinary projects in areas such as virtual reality, human-computer interaction, or robotics.
Also called
Computer ScientistComputer SpecialistControl System Computer ScientistResearch ScientistScientific Programmer Analyst
More job titles for this occupation (26)
AI Engineer (Artificial Intelligence Engineer)Applied ScientistArtificial Intelligence Specialist (AI Specialist)Computational LinguistComputational ScientistComputational Theory ScientistComputer Vision ScientistCryptologistCybersecurity Research Scientist (Cyber Research Scientist)Digital Solutions ManagerInformation ScientistLanguages ResearcherMachine Learning Data ScientistMachine Learning EngineerMachine Learning Research ScientistMachine Learning ScientistMachine Learning Software EngineerMulti-Disciplined Language AnalystNLP Engineer (Natural Language Processing Engineer)Programming Languages ResearcherProgramming Methodology ResearcherResearch and Development Specialist (R and D Specialist)Research Computer ScientistResearch EngineerScientistSite Reliability Engineer

Source: O*NET 31.0 (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0). These are general job titles, not H-1B filings; for titles employers actually filed, see “Job titles” above.