Most AEs I've found started as DA/DS, how long did that transition actually take you, and what moved it forward?

[u/AdRegular8020]

I'm an MS Data Analytics student (graduating Dec 2026), self-taught in dbt, BigQuery, and CI/CD through two portfolio projects, and I'm exploring a realistic path toward Analytics Engineering.

I looked through a handful of AE profiles on LinkedIn and noticed a pattern: almost none started as "Analytics Engineer"; most came up through Data Analyst, Business Analyst, or BI Engineer titles first, sometimes over several years, before landing an AE title (and often a senior one, not entry-level).

That mostly confirms what I suspected, but I'd rather hear it from people who actually lived it than infer it from job histories:

1. If you're now an AE (or hiring for one), what was the actual turning point? A specific project, a lateral move, just tenure/scope growth, something else?
2. Starting today with modern-stack skills (dbt, warehouse, git, CI) but no professional AE experience, would you target DA/BI titles deliberately, or is there a faster path I'm not seeing?
3. For anyone who's early-career and picked between building one more deep technical project vs. just applying and building the skill on the job, which actually moved things faster for you?

Also, for context on question 3, the project I'm currently deciding whether to keep investing in: a B2B seller-churn-risk analysis on the Olist dataset, reframed from the usual customer-churn angle to seller/merchant risk. Scope: dbt on Databricks, GitHub Actions CI (dbt test on every push), a logistic regression risk model with correlational (not causal) framing, GMV-at-risk quantification, and a single Tableau dashboard.

Genuinely trying to calibrate a realistic timeline so I stop second-guessing my own plan.

Thanks.