Why Your Data Science Degree Won’t Get You Promoted (and What Will)
3 mistakes I didn’t realize I was making
📣 Today’s post is brought to you by a special guest, my friend Penelope Lafeuille from . She is a Senior Data Scientist based in the US who writes about landing data science jobs and getting promoted. I highly recommend you check out her work.
Two years ago, I thought I deserved to be promoted to “Senior Data Scientist”.
I was working hard,
delivering value,
hitting deadlines…
Yet nothing happened.
It stung.
And it wasn’t because I lacked effort or skills (I was an A+ student).
I got promoted this year—but only after I fixed three mistakes that were holding me back.
I wasn’t working on what truly added value to the company.
I slacked on keeping my manager updated (even if I was going above and beyond…)
I never actually asked for a promotion.
If this sounds familiar, don’t worry.
I’ll share what I changed and how you can apply it to accelerate your own career growth.
Mistake 1: Not working on what truly adds value.
For a long time, I got lost in what I thought mattered—cleaner models, fancier dashboards, sharper code.
But promotions don’t come from technical polish alone. They come from business impact.
I had to ask myself:
Which problems keep my manager awake at night?
Which projects move revenue, save costs, or influence key decisions?
Once I aligned my work with those levers, everything changed. Suddenly, my efforts weren’t just “good work”—they were critical work.
If you’re not sure what those levers are, ask. A simple:
“What’s the most important problem I can help solve this quarter?”
…will put you ahead of most peers who just wait for tasks to roll in.
Mistake 2: Slacking on my updates.
Out of sight, out of mind.
I thought my boss would notice my hard work. Instead, weeks of progress went unseen.
Think about Pizza Hut’s order tracker. The pizza doesn’t cook faster, but seeing “Prepping → Baking → Out for delivery” makes the wait easier.
Your boss needs that same visibility.
Pro tip: send a 5-minute daily recap.
At the end of the day, drop a quick Slack message:
What you worked on
What you shipped
What’s next
It feels small. But over time, those daily updates become a powerful paper trail of your contributions. When promotion time comes, you’re not scrambling for proof—you’ve already built it.
Mistake 3: Not asking for a promotion.
I used to think that if I just worked hard enough, someone would notice.
But managers aren’t mind readers.
It’s not just about asking for a promotion. It’s about opening a dialogue—saying:
“I want to add as much value as I can to the company. I’ve already been doing that, and I believe I can do it even better if I get promoted.”
But don’t move to this step until you’ve done the groundwork:
Sent consistent daily recaps to make your progress visible.
Focus your efforts on projects that clearly add business value.
Once those are in place, the conversation becomes a natural next step—not a gamble.
Simon Sinek nailed it:
“These conversations go south when they become a demand instead of a dialogue.”
That was my problem. I wasn’t having any conversations at all.
Here’s the framework I now use:
1. Ask for permission first
Don’t ambush your manager. Say:
“Could we set up a time to talk about how I can keep contributing more to the company and how my growth and compensation could reflect that?”
2. Lead with commitment
“I really enjoy working here, and I want to keep growing with the company.”
3. Make it about the future
“I’ve taken on more responsibilities, and I’d love to understand how my compensation could reflect that. What goals should I focus on to continue growing with the team?”
See the shift? It’s not a demand. It’s a roadmap.
I didn’t get promoted for two years—not because I wasn’t good enough, but because I wasn’t playing the right game.
Once I started:
Aligning my work with what the company values most,
Making my progress visible every single day,
Asking for promotions instead of waiting for them,
…I finally broke through.
And you can too.
So here’s my challenge for you this week:
Identify one project that clearly ties to business impact.
Send one daily recap—for five days straight.
Write one respectful sentence you could use to ask your manager for a growth conversation.
Do that consistently, and your next promotion won’t be a question of “if”—only “when.”
Until Next time,
— Penelope
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Thanks for sharing such insights ❤️
This was really helpful
Its a game changer once you figure that out