[Login to see the link] - To be honest, I think that data science is easier than professional programming.
I'm not referring to learning programming through one of those "Learn in 24 hours" books or video courses, of course.
Rather, I'm referring to programming for a living as a consultant. If you work for the government or a small business -- or another low-pay/low-expectation job, you can get away with being one of those "learned in 24 hours" programmers. However, making a good living in software development -- I think it's more difficult than data science.
The biggest reason is that in data science, everything is fairly straightforward. You won't spend days tracing back some error (or just as long trying to find/reproduce some weird error that you swear can't be real).
I'm not saying this to scare people; I'm saying this to reassure you -- that Data Science is a lot to learn, yes -- but -- the more there is to learn, the easier it is to get a job, and the better it pays!
Most importantly, anything that appears tough (statistics, for example) -- you can refer back to the books as a reference guide.
Here's a trick that I often use, if I get discouraged:
First, I move forward on any small bit of code, I am able to do that's right in front of me. In other words, if there is a unique algorithm that doesn't make sense, I'll start writing some sort of support code, but I won't tackle the algorithm issue.
Then I'll start researching, and I'll copy/paste and most importantly .. test .. some things. As I begin testing them (this is so important -- you cannot just read about the examples -- you HAVE TO test them yourself, in your code) -- then suddenly, somehow, they start to make more sense.
For me, another trick is working in the middle of the night. When something is very difficult and I'm writing code... I cannot have ANY distractions. I close my door, use noise-cancelling headphones, and I make sure I've had no caffeine. I need a very relaxed, concentrated mind.
A few days later you will think "that wasn't so bad ... I'll never remember how to do it in the future .. but it wasn't that bad" lol.
Another thing to remember about software development: This is not a field for people that cannot concentrate -- or people who do not like to read and learn constantly. As long as you can concentrate and you like reading/learning -- I assure you, nothing will be too difficult, if you give it time and use your references when requried. 🙂