I keep learning, then I should always be ahead of people just starting out.

But it's interesting to me that at my last job we had Physics PhDs, Music PhDs, linguists, random dudes without college degrees, etc. who had ditched their career paths in favor of data science/analytics. What mattered was what they could do, and not what degrees they had. I'd much rather work in a field that relies on merit and skills for job security, as opposed to one that relies on high barriers to entry for job security.