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Disrupt yourself, before AI does it for you.

Can we be real for a sec?

If we think AI is just going to be our co-pilot making us more efficient and faster at the things we currently do - I think we’re f*cked.

AI is transforming the data landscape at a blistering pace. As automation advances, many data professionals are beginning to wonder:

If you can learn how to adapt and (near)future-proof your career, you’ll unlock new opportunities instead of being left behind.

Ironically the most successful data professionals in the future won’t simply be the ones that are best at leveraging AI, but the ones with the most well rounded and developed interpersonal skills - the most human among us.

Staying ahead means securing your value, increasing your career options, and positioning yourself as a leader in a world where AI is everywhere.

Unfortunately, if you don’t take steps to evolve, AI will outpace your current skill set. Many traditional data roles are already changing, and those who fail to adapt risk stagnation, job displacement, or being seen as replaceable within their organisations.

Let’s take a look at the impacts of this and what you can do about it to stay relevant 👇🏻

_{(remember to check below for last week’s poll results)} 

🤖 The impacts of AI on Data Careers

Automation of Routine Tasks
Tasks like data cleaning, feature engineering, and even some reporting are being increasingly automated. If your work consists primarily of repeatable, process-driven tasks, AI is coming for it. This means fewer junior data roles and a shrinking demand for professionals who lack strategic expertise.

Commoditisation of Data Skills
With AI-powered tools making advanced analytics more accessible, traditional technical skills alone are no longer enough. Business leaders and non-technical professionals can now build models, create dashboards, and generate insights without a dedicated data team, reducing the perceived value of purely technical expertise.

Increased Expectations for Productivity
AI accelerates data processing and decision-making, leading to higher expectations from leadership. Companies will demand faster turnaround times and greater impact from data teams, leaving little room for slow, iterative work without clear business value.

Changing Skill Demands
The skills that set data professionals apart are shifting. The highest-value professionals will be those who can bridge the gap between AI and business strategy. The demand is increasing for:

• AI governance and ethics expertise

• Data storytelling and communication skills

• MLOps and AI deployment knowledge

• Strategic problem-solving with data

Job Displacement in Specific Roles
Certain roles are at higher risk than others. Business intelligence analysts, traditional data engineers, and even entry-level data scientists may see fewer opportunities as AI takes over repetitive and predictive tasks. The professionals who thrive will be those who evolve beyond technical execution into strategic enablers of AI-driven decision-making.

Shift in Organisational Power
As AI-driven decision-making becomes more prevalent, power may shift away from technical data teams and towards business leaders who leverage AI for insights. If data professionals don’t position themselves as trusted advisors, they risk being sidelined from critical decision-making processes.

🥇 How to stay ahead

Paul Graham’s tweet(?) below is bang on. Of course, he was mainly referring to software engineers, but it’s equally true for data professionals:

Remaining relevant in an AI dominated landscape means better leveraging the very things that make us more human.

Here’s how you can stay relevant and thrive:

Develop AI Literacy
Understand how AI models work, their limitations, and where human expertise is still critical. Knowing when and how to apply AI effectively will make you an asset, not a liability.

Focus on Strategic & Leadership Skills
Technical skills alone won’t cut it, business impact is what matters. Develop a strong understanding of business needs, stakeholder management, and how to communicate data-driven insights in a way that drives profitable actions.

Specialise in Areas AI Struggles With
AI is powerful, but it has blind spots. Invest in skills that AI can’t easily replace, such as:

• Critical thinking and problem-solving

• Ethical oversight and AI governance

• Human-centric decision-making

Become an AI Integrator
Rather than competing with AI, learn how to integrate it into your workflow. The most valuable data professionals will be those who harness AI to automate low-value tasks while focusing on high-impact work that AI can’t replicate, such as those we’ve touched on above.

AI isn’t here to take your job, it’s here to change it.

The question is: will you change with it?

🚨 Price increase imminent! 📈

If you’re interested in data leadership coaching, but not yet ready to commit to the full fat version, then my DIY Coaching could be for you.

DIY Coaching helps data professionals unlock and maximise the potential of their data careers in their own time and at their own speed.

This self-paced email series and accompanying exercises provides actionable tools to help data professionals navigate career transitions, set goals, and achieve success.

It’s currently only £49 (but will be jumping to £199 very soon!!)

To learn more about this hugely popular product and to purchase, click here!

🏠 Community Corner

Going forward, I plan to share links to great work being done by great people in my network (unpaid, of course.)

This week, I want to introduce you to 3 people who are contributing in amazing ways to the data community.

• Juliana Smith - New YouTube channel focused on helping data professionals build beautiful and accessible data visualisations. Check out this one on colour and contrast in PowerBI

• Tanya MacKinnon - Writes an awesome blog of data-centric thinking. Check out this post titled Layers of Metadata 

• James Miller - A huge name in the data space. Check out his recently launched newsletter call the DataMBA

If you’d like to be featured in my community corner in future, hit me up by replying to this email or find me over on LinkedIn.

⚡️ Previous poll results

Last week I asked you: what’s the biggest challenge in bridging the gap between data teams and the business?

Here’s how you responded:

Tristan Burns

Find me on LinkedIn or Book a 1:1 call