Here are 9 HUGE lies I hear often about becoming a data analyst in 2025 👇

1) You need a computer science or math degree

Nope, I see someone land a job every week with degrees like English, Music, and Business.

2) You have to be good at math

Nah! It's not so much as knowing calculus or linear algebra, it's more about being able to think critically.

3) You need to know EVERYTHING

Definitely not. Even just knowing Excel can be enough to land your data job. You'll learn the rest on the job.

4) Certifications matter

Tbh, most hiring managers don't even know what certifications are available & what they teach.

5) Skills are enough

Skills are only 33% of the formula. Having a portfolio and networking effectively are the missing 66%.

6) AI will replace data analysts

AI isn't going to take your job, but an analyst using AI? Maybe so. That's why I'm updating The Accelerator to have AI prompts for every module.

7) Data analysts spend 80% of their time cleaning data

I don't know who made up this statistic. I'm sure it's true for some data analysts...but the majority, hard no.

8) Every data title ever

Yup. Data titles are all made up. I just saw one called "Data Analytics Engineer." You might think it's a Data Engineer, right? Nope. Okay, more like an Analytics Engineer right? Not that either. Okay...so Data Analyst then? Nope. It's a mechanical engineer who is good at data analytics 🤣

9) There are lots of remote jobs

This one hurts. I've been web scraping job boards (including FindADataJob.com) and I'm seeing only 16% of posted data jobs are remote. I'm sorry. I talked about this more previously.

10) Being a "self-taught" Data Analyst

What does this even mean? And why do people wear it as a badge of honor? No one is just like sitting at an empty desk and learning by just thinking hard. We all use resources. It's okay. We don't have to pretend we didn't get help.

Keep Going.

And if you're good at math, you realize that was 10, not 9 lies 🤣 If you didn't notice, just give up on your data career now.

Just kidding. I hope this helped you feel motivated & feel closer to landing a data job.

It feels far away, until it doesn't. And then you're starting a new career. And life is awesome. Stay patient. Keep working. I'm cheering you on from the other side of the internet.