Career moves · 231,145 postings · 163 markets · 2026-07-16
Where can your career go next?
Search the role you're in. We count what employers ask for across 231,145 active postings, then show you the markets one step away: how big each one is, and exactly which skills you'd need to add.
What this is and isn't
Markets sit close together when employers on both sides ask for the same skills, measured across 350 normalized skills. This is not a record of people moving between them. That would need career histories we don't have. A close market also isn't automatically a good move. Skills counted are the ones postings list explicitly, so every figure is a floor.
You are here
Research Scientist
160 open jobs·75 employers
10 markets are one step away
These are the 10 careers with the highest skill overlap with Research Scientist. Bigger circles mean more openings; careers closer to the center require fewer new skills.
Among nearby careers, Software Engineer has the most openings (7,054), while Machine Learning Engineer requires the fewest new skills.
Skill transition
How much each market's required skills differ from your
current role.
- Very close1
- Close6
- Moderate change3
Larger circles = more open jobs, from 143 to 7,054 here.
TapSelect a market to put it at the center.
Machine Learning Engineer
from Research Scientist
Excellent match
Very close
The closest move to Research Scientist we can see.
570
openings in Machine Learning Engineer
6
skills you already have
6
skills to learn
5
skills to strengthen
You already have
Research ScientistMachine Learning Engineershare of postingsml
49%100%
pytorch
20%64%
tensorflow
10%54%
llm
21%39%
deep learning
36%36%
experimentation
10%24%
You'll need to learn
- model deploymentasked for in 32% of Machine Learning Engineer postings
- data engineeringasked for in 32% of Machine Learning Engineer postings
- machine learningasked for in 100% of Machine Learning Engineer postings
- kubernetesasked for in 13% of Machine Learning Engineer postings
- dockerasked for in 11% of Machine Learning Engineer postings
- observabilityasked for in 12% of Machine Learning Engineer postings
Strengthen what you have
- ml49% → 100%
- pytorch20% → 64%
- tensorflow10% → 54%
- llm21% → 39%
- experimentation10% → 24%
How much work is out there
Research Scientist160Machine Learning Engineer570This market has 3.6x more postings than yours.
What to do next
1 · Learn
model deployment
Asked for in 32% of Machine Learning Engineer postings, and 5 other new skills.
2 · Strengthen
ml
49% of Research Scientist postings ask for it, against 100% of Machine Learning Engineer.
3 · Look at the work
570 Machine Learning Engineer postings
Observed active in this snapshot.
160 Research Scientist postings · 570 Machine Learning Engineer postings · 350 normalized skills · snapshot 2026-07-16
Methodology
What is this based on?
231,145 live job postings from 28,870 employers across 163 markets, captured 2026-07-16. Skills come from each posting's stated requirements.
How is distance calculated?
Each market becomes a profile of the skills its postings request, and markets are compared by how much those profiles overlap (an IDF-weighted cosine similarity, so skills that appear in almost every role count for less). The closest markets sit nearest the center, grouped into five bands from Very close to Different field.
What do the skill lists mean?
Shared skills are the ones both roles commonly ask for. Skills to learn are the ones the target market asks for that your current role doesn't, ranked by how much more often they come up.
What isn't included?
Years of experience, seniority, salary, portfolio or certification requirements, or how competitive a role is to land. Skill overlap is one axis of a move, not the whole picture.
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