I have bad news. If you want to become a Data Scientist, I don’t think you should try to be one. At least right now. Lemme explain.

Data science isn't dead. Nor do I think it’s dying. Nor do I think data scientists are going to be replaced by AI. In fact, the opposite.

I love data science. I think they have a bright future.

But if you're starting from absolute scratch right now, trying to become a Data Scientist is probably one of the biggest mistakes you can possibly make.

The good news is, there’s a smarter way to get there. 👇

The Harsh Reality About Data Science

1. It takes forever to learn.

You need math (like real math). Calculus, linear algebra, and all that scary stuff you tried to forget about years ago. Even if you skip the deep math theory, the machine learning logic alone is really hard to learn.

And then you need to code all of that math using Python or R.

And programming is really hard to learn! And takes forever!

So now you're learning two hard things at once. Math AND programming.

That's years of work. Not months. YEARS.

2. Most jobs now want a master's degree.

Go check LinkedIn. Most data scientist roles say they want a master's in data science.

I wish it wasn’t true. But it is.

That's 1 to 2 years of school. And at least $13,000 if you find the cheapest program. Maybe closer to $25,000 on average.

Ouch.

3. There aren't even that many jobs open.

I checked LinkedIn. Here's what I found for the US:

• Data Scientist jobs: 8,000

• Data Engineer jobs: 9,000

• Data Analyst jobs: 17,000

Data science has the LEAST openings. Data analyst has more than double.

4. Data science is a risky investment for companies.

You might not know this, but 70%+ of data science projects fail. 🙋‍♂️

Hand up: I’ve personally built several failed data science projects. It’s the nature of the beast.

Data science projects take months or even years to show results. It’s tricky stuff. You're predicting the future. That's hard. Projects fail all the time.

But data analysis? You can build a report in a few days and help the business right away.

Immediate return on investment for the business.

I think companies are looking for non-risky investments in this economy.

Data Analyst Risk < Data Scientist Risk

But I want to become a data scientist…

Great. Become a Data Analyst FIRST. Then get paid to become a Data Scientist.

Data analysts don't need crazy math. It’s just basic math (stuff you know how to do).

You don’t need programming languages like Python or R. You just need SQL, Excel, and Tableau.

You can learn those in 3 months.

There are way more jobs.

Remember? 17,000 analyst jobs vs 8,000 scientist jobs. That's double the opportunities.

You get hired faster.

Instead of spending 2 years in a master's program and going into debt, you land a job and start earning money within months.

Companies will pay you to become a data scientist.

Once you're working as a data analyst, your company will invest in YOU.

They'll give you free access to LinkedIn Learning. They'll send you to conferences. Some will even pay for your master's degree.

I know teachers and QA testers who became data analysts. Now their companies are paying for their data science master's degrees.

Get paid to learn? I’m in.

Here's What You Should Do

Pick the data analyst path. Commit to it.

It will only take you a few months.

Then at your new data job, get paid to learn the rest.

That's the roadmap. That's how you become a data scientist without wasting years or going broke.

Wanna follow this plan? This is exactly what we teach inside the Accelerator. You’ll build skills, projects, and confidence to land your first data job. Come join us.