You can still become a data analyst in 2025, even if you have no prior experience.

Melody Santos is the proof in the pudding (where did that phrase come from).

She went from being a Physical Therapist for 20+ years to Healthcare Analyst WITHOUT needing an analytics masters, spending $20,000, or taking 2+ years.

Here are the 3 things she did well 👇🏻 (steal ‘em)

Focus on Local In-Person Data Jobs

Look, I get it. Everyone wants a remote job. And it makes sense, remote jobs are freakin’ awesome.

But remote positions are VERY competitive, especially in 2025.

They’re about 15% of posted jobs.

And when you’re just breaking into data, you want LESS competition, not more.

So instead, focus on local, in-person jobs.

Not sexy, but effective.

When Melody applied to her current job, it only had 3 applicants 😮

No one wants to work in person, I guess.

Melody commutes via train 4 days a week, but she gets to work from home the 5th day. I’d call that 20% remote.

That sounds more sexy, right?

Shop Apply Local

Specialized in Domain

At one point, Melody felt like she couldn’t do it—she couldn’t break into data.

She had no experience. She didn’t know what she was doing. She was a physical therapist. Why would anyone hire her? Then she realized…wait…I actually know a decent amount revenue and insurance revenue.

As a healthcare worker, she had to deal with billing and insurance all the time.

She decided that gave her a leg up on the competition. Her past experience. She knew a lot about healthcare.

So she decided to focus on Healthcare Analyst roles, specifically the ones that had to do with revenue, billing, and insurance. Smart right?

After learning the skills, building a portfolio, and job hunting, she landed a healthcare data job in revenue, billing, and insurance.

Your past experience is not your weakness. It’s actually your super power.

Melody Enrolled in a Bootcamp

In one of my more recent videos, I talked about how I view the term “self-taught data analyst” as a joke. Like, what the h*ck does that even mean?

Everyone learns from somewhere. You just don’t go outside bask in the sun think really hard, and suddenly you understand linear algebra—there’s no divine ability to magically learn data on your own. Unless you have done that? In that case, please reply to this email ASAP - I’d love to meet you.

We are all learning from someone, somewhere, some how.

Plus even if you are “self-taught”, what does that get you? Want a badge? A trophy?

There’s no reason to be “self-taught.” You’ll learn better, and faster from someone.

And of course, you can learn for free, but I’ve found those who pay to to learn, pay attention. And get results faster.

Melody joined my Accelerator Program. It gave her structure. Direction. Guidance. Membership.

You can find that other places, but I think The Accelerator is a great option for the price.

Learn more here.