I worked adjacent to the data science field when it was in its infancy. As in I remember people who are now household names in the field debating what it should be called.
At the time I considered going down that path, but decided I did not have anywhere near the statistics & math knowledge to get very far. So I stuck with the path I had been on. Over time I saw a lot of acquaintances jumping into the data science game. I couldn't figure out how they were learning this stuff so fast. At some point I realized that most of them knew less than I did when I decided I didn't know enough to even begin that journey.
Of course, I was comparing myself against the giants of the field and not the long tail of foot soldiers. But it made for a great example to me of how with just about everything there's a small handful of people who are the primary movers, and then everybody else.
At the time I considered going down that path, but decided I did not have anywhere near the statistics & math knowledge to get very far. So I stuck with the path I had been on. Over time I saw a lot of acquaintances jumping into the data science game. I couldn't figure out how they were learning this stuff so fast. At some point I realized that most of them knew less than I did when I decided I didn't know enough to even begin that journey.
Of course, I was comparing myself against the giants of the field and not the long tail of foot soldiers. But it made for a great example to me of how with just about everything there's a small handful of people who are the primary movers, and then everybody else.