Data Science: Proceed with Caution

Vicki Boykis has a wonderful contrarian take on pursuing data science as a career.

Given that there are 50, sometimes 100, sometimes 200 people for each junior role, don’t compete with those people. Don’t do a degree in data science, don’t do a bootcamp []. 

Don’t do what everyone else is doing, because it won’t differentiate you. You’re competing against a stacked, oversaturated industry and just making things harder for yourself. 

It’s much easier to come into a data science and tech career through the “back door”, i.e. starting out as a junior developer, or in DevOps, project management, and, perhaps most relevant, as a data analyst, information manager, or similar, than it is to apply point-blank for the same 5 positions that everyone else is applying to.

What I like about her essay is that despite her "pessimism", she has valuable practical advice for someone still willing to jump into the waters.