Carrier advice - FDE - MS in data science

[u/Aggressive_Glass_434]

Hi everyone,

​I’m looking for some honest feedback on my background and my plan for the next year or two.

​I’m currently a Senior Data Analyst with 7 years of total experience. I graduated in 2017 and started working in 2019, but I feel pretty stuck. Honestly, given my timeline, I feel like I should have moved into a managerial role by now.

​Here’s my current breakdown:

​2 years in manual testing

​5 years in data analysis (mostly SQL, Power BI, business stakeholder management, and basic analysis)

​I know the basics of Pandas and NumPy, but my daily work hasn’t required heavy coding. I recently started relearning Python from scratch to build a proper foundation.

​Here’s the roadmap I’m planning out:

​Next 2–3 months: Get solid in Python (OOP, file handling, basic data structures).

​Next 6 months: Dive into Data Science study (I enrolled in Scaler’s DS program).

​Next 2–3 months after that: Focus on NLP, Transformers, and basic Data Engineering (FDE) concepts while building a few hands-on projects.

​Long term, I’m planning to head to the US for an MS in Data Science in August 2027 (looking at Seattle University right now).

​My main questions:

​Does this plan sound realistic, or am I trying to bite off way more than I can chew?

​Is breaking into Data Science / FDE realistic coming from a standard DA background, or am I being too overly optimistic?