"This career is so new you can get into it in multiple ways. Getting a degree in statistics or computer science can help, or getting a Ph.D. in basically anything analytical. These analytical skills and coding will be helpful to transfer to data science. Data science bootcamps or getting a master's in Data Science will help you if you want to jump in mid-career as I did..."
"Be careful if you see job postings that are posted up with impossible to reach standards. These are constantly up for months and won't likely be filled. Don't be discouraged if you see these..."
"Usually, people listen to what I (and my colleagues) have to say because we built up an internal reputation of being data driven, not opinion driven. In addition, because we are a separate team that answers to the CIO, we are way less involved in company politics..."
"You will have to argue with people who want their procedures to stay the way they are, even when you show how and why they can be improved. It can be quite frustrating to do all the work in coming up with a good solution but then being shut down by the people who should implement your changes because they don't want change..."