Hi everyone,
I'm Ben from 80,000 Hours. We do careers advice for effective altruists.
If you have any questions about your career, please post them here and I'll do my best to answer them.
In the meantime, you can check out our online career guide: 80000hours.org
Ben
PS Feel free to ask whatever's most pressing to you - don't worry about whether it's relevant to other readers or not.
Update Jan 2016: We're no longer checking this thread for new questions!
Please ask on our Linkedin group instead: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/5057625
Generally you'll start as a data engineer (read 'person who uses code to organise data') or data analyst (spreadsheets and business') rather than a data scientist (read commercial statistician). If you're starting from zero, it's worth learning to code regardless, and if you love math then it's plausible that data engineer could be a better entry point than web development. Pay is similar.
Thanks, Ryan. Do you have a specific starting recommendation?
i.e. best starting point if you think data engineering will suit you more than web development? (e.g. learn python)
Or quickest way to test out if you're going to like the data science track? (e.g. start with a stats course rather than the coding)