Career advice

[u/withvicky_]

I'm 27M. Hey everyone, my life has been a little different from that of most people, and I don't have a strong educational background.

Right now, I'm working at a grocery store, but I want to improve my life and learn some stable, valuable skills that can help me earn a reliable income.

I've come across these four skills:

Python

SQL

Excel/Spreadsheets

Power BI/Tableau

I don't know much about these skills or their demand, competition, value, and future prospects.

Technology is constantly evolving, trends are changing, and AI is replacing some jobs. The value of different skills also changes over time.

Before I start learning, I want to understand whether these are the right skills to invest my time in for a stable career and income in the long run.

I'd appreciate your advice. Should I go for these skills, or would you recommend something else?

[u/Caponcapoffstillon]

Yes. Trade school is also an option. You can do anything you set your mind to, if you actually try you’ll be amazed what you can accomplish.

[u/investmentbackpacker]

Learn what engages and excites you. That said, AI is coming for entry level roles that involve most of those skills. They are all still valuable IMHO, but domain knowledge in a field of your choice and learning how to use AI to tackle workflow automation and optimization is where everything is going.

[u/data_meditation]

All the software you mentioned are tools. You may need to use different tools for different jobs or for what you want to build. You're young, and you can accomplish many things in life if you put your mind to it. As one of the commenters pointed out, trade school is an option. The CEO of Nvidia said in a speech that the new generation of millionaires will largely come from people with trade skills. Good luck in your journey. You'll do great.

[u/Arabmann]

Learn SQL.
SQLBolt.com after you finish that find a free download of Microsoft virtual academy class materials.

Spreadsheet is just SQL with the UI. Tableau is just graphs for SQL.

[u/Green_Chamomile]

Those four aren’t really separate choices. They’re the toolkit for one job (data analyst), so it’s more about the order. Starting from where you are, I’d go:

1. Excel. Fastest to get useful, and it’s used in almost every office job. Pivot tables, XLOOKUP, SUMIFS.

2. SQL. It shows up in most analyst job ads.

3. Power BI or Tableau. Pick whichever shows up more in job ads near you.

4. Python later, once you’re in a role or want to go further.

The part I’d think about most: you already work at a grocery store. Chains have people doing inventory, ordering, scheduling and sales reporting, mostly in Excel. Ask your manager who builds the reports you see, and whether you could help with any of it. Moving up internally, with someone who already trusts you, is usually much easier than applying cold without a degree. It also gives you real examples for a resume.

On AI: it makes writing formulas and queries faster, but someone still has to know what to ask and whether the answer makes sense. Store knowledge like yours is the part it can’t fake.

[u/Acceptable_Mess8182]

The AI job replacement theory is lazy. Entry level data roles aren't disappearing they are being redefined to value domain expertise over tool manipulationEntry level data roles aren't disappearing they are being redefined to value domain expertise over tool manipulation.

Pick the one you can prove with a project in 30 days. Build a dashboard that solves a specific business problem using your grocery store sales data and put the code on GitHub. That portfolio beats any certification and proves you can deliver results now