42 / Sales / Data Science?

Question

I am 42 and have been in technology sales for the last 16+ years. I generally love playing with data and numbers and out of curiosity started learning the basics of data analytics and haven’t found it difficult (so far). I want to seriously learn data analytics / data science (I know these are different but I want to keep my options open).

A few things about me:

\- I come from a pure math background (graduated with Mathematics in college) but it's been a while since I had dwelled in that realm.

\- I don’t enjoy coding, not that I can't do it but I am definitely not going to be a master Python or R coder, I know that. I will probably rate myself 4/10.

\- I enjoy statistics, probability and Algebra and don’t mind spending more time understanding the  mathematical concepts needed for DS.

\- I also like data visualization, have done a course on Tableau and have been playing around with it. I'd also like to learn PowerBI and Looker.

I need some help to understand a few things:

1. Am I too old now to venture into the field of DS? Am I already in a losing battle due to my age?
2. Although I like working on data visualization projects my end goal is to learn to create various statistical models for predicting various outcomes based on different business / use case scenarios - do I need to be really good in coding to do this?
3. How far can my interest in statistics / probability (and the lack of interest in coding) will take me in this field?
4. Most importantly, I do not want to restart my career as a Jr. Analyst and climb all the way up at this age. Are there any options where I can leverage my experience in tech sales with the skills I shall acquire in DS?
5. Anything else I should know?

Answer 1

Why learn DS if you don’t enjoy coding?

Answer 2

It will take 5-10 years of near 100% concentration and effort learning CS concepts, maths & stats, and getting familiar enough with the wide variety of tools you will need to use (think Python, SQL, R, Scala, dashboarding tools and cloud).