Data Analyst | Tableau Consultant | Author of How to Become a Data Analyst

If you're reading this you probably either:
1. Want a job in data. 
2. Want a friend in data.
3. Need a data analyst. 

If you're #1, I was you, just one year ago! I've shared how I went from beginner to experienced data professional since the beginning.

Its my goal to create the kind of content a younger version of me would have wanted to consume!

#2, thanks for being here! Feel free to give me a wave. Lets be social!

#3's, hello 👋. If you haven't yet, check out my portfolio site, or my Annie's Analytics company page on here where I offer consulting services.

Heres my story. 

In February of 2022, I decided to learn data analytics for fun. I created a Tik Tok account, and started documenting my journey to learn this new hobby (@anniesanalytics). 

Very soon, I realized that every day I was waking up and just wanting to write SQL, build visualizations, learn Python.... Work with data! So, I decided that once I finished graduate school (in Healthcare) in July, I was going to become a data analyst. 

Along the way, I have shared here and on Tik Tok everything I can about what it's like to learn data analytics, and how you can do it for free or at least very cheaply. I've shared about the ups and downs of job searching. I've even shared about how I have built a portfolio, and set myself up as a real analyst. 

Now I also do YouTube videos, especially my series where I invite other data analysts to have a coffee chat with me, but we live stream it! We talk about our journeys into data and what our jobs look like now. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3wIL0Blsv2vf8aAjTQXo017YntAXqrZc


Want to see my Portfolio as it was when I got my first job in analytics? I left it here in exactly the same state that it was when I got my job in July of 2022 to serve as an example to you, if you are a job seeker now! https://anniesanalytics.wixsite.com/annie-nelson/projects-6 

Want to see my current portfolio I am using now that I have gained some more skills? https://anniesanalytics.carrd.co/

Or the LinkedIn group here: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12635532

Discord here! https://discord.com/invite/m9vZKtReFM

Annie Nelson

Hitting the title of "senior data analyst" was a revelation for me, because I realized that the path ahead suddenly had a lot more forks and turns than it did on the way here.

Progressing Junior -> Senior felt like a very linear path. I took detours by becoming a SME in Tableau as a junior, but the corporate path was still well paved.

I try to be proactive about my career - I am very happy where I am right now and I'm not in a rush to keep progressing, but I understand that career steps are not done in the moment. I should always have a direction.

But what IS my direction now?

The next level on my team is "staff", which could be a target. But what does it even mean to be a staff level data analyst?

Since I got promoted 2x this year, I know it would be quite a while before I could be promoted again to staff. I suppose that would give me a long time to figure out what staff even means on my team.

Up isn't the only way to go.

I enjoy working with the business - more than I enjoy data for the sake of data. One option could be moving from the data team to a business team.

Or, like many do analysts, I could go the way of taking on a true business role and drop the 'data analyst' from my title - such as product manager.

Since I haven't held any of those roles before, I would have to do a lot of research to figure out what steps I'd need to take if I wanted to make a change like that.

Another option is to move to an organization that is bigger / smaller. If I worked at a startup I would get the chance to wear a lot more hats, and likely be much closer to the business strategy than I do now as an analyst on a data team at a public company.

I suppose the road has always been this wide, but I didn't realize it because I had been focused on what was right in front of me - improving myself and my skills to go in the direction of senior.

For me, it wasn't really about the senior title. What appealed to me was that "Senior" gave me a benchmark of qualities and skills that I (a former nanny) could aspire towards as I learned to be an effective tech person.

I guess you could say that I'm looking for my next benchmark - who do I want to be? What skills do I need to cultivate? What kinds of projects should I be getting experience with?

Eventually I will figure it out 🫡

If you want to know how the AI bubble is going, here's the top comment from a news post about big AI changes to coming to Gmail.

AI will be implemented throughout - it can read, respond to, and prioritize your emails for you. And it's turned on automatically! 

Notice the likes.

I'm considering counter-pitching the AI company that reached out to me to help me "10x my posting efficiency by recycling my existing popular content" 

and offering to pay them $10 to send me their client list so I can make sure to unfollow them.

One of the reasons LinkedIn has become so tedious recently is that it's nearly impossible to find an original thought on here.

The space once occupied by thought leaders is now crowded by people who know how to gather an emotional reaction out of the largest amount of people.

Yes, it's conventional content creator wisdom to reuse your old posts that have performed well. I don't care. Its boring. 

Followers is just a vanity metric if most of your followers are just going to skip all of your posts because they've seen the content before (multiple times).

Tiffany Teasley

I didn’t start my career in tech.

I spent twenty years teaching and transitioned into data science in my forties. I failed my first data science interview, fixed what I missed, turned it around, and got the job I originally interviewed for.

Today, I’m a working Data Scientist and AI Developer who’s been through the challenges of this path and now mentors and guides aspiring data scientists and career changers.

Credibility and recognition:
- LinkedIn Top Voice (2024-2025)
- Named one of the Amazing People at LexisNexis 
- "How I Got My First Job as a Data Scientist" Featured on Udemy and KDnuggets 

Through Data Sistah, I mentor aspiring data scientists through:
- Career coaching and clarity
- AmplifAI: guided, AI-enhanced portfolio development
- Resume, LinkedIn, and job search support

Learn more at: https://www.data-sistah.com/

Data Scientist

Applying to 100 data science jobs isn’t a strategy. It’s stress.
Here are 6 steps I would follow today:

1.  Pick three companies I genuinely care about.
2.  Study their data science job postings like cheat sheets.
3.  Build a project that mirrors the problems they’re hiring for.
4.  Reach out to someone on the data or ML team.
5.  Ask thoughtful, role-specific questions.
6.  Then apply, with a referral.

✨Focused applications beat mass applying every time.

P.S. Are you applying everywhere or being intentional?
#DataSistah

♻️ Repost if this helps someone rethink how they’re job searching.
📌 Save this if mass applying hasn’t been working.

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The Battle

Annie Nelson

Tiffany Teasley

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The Battle

Annie Nelson

Tiffany Teasley

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Annie Nelson's LinkedIn Performance

Performance ScoreTiffany Teasley's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreAnnie Nelson's LinkedIn Performance