A skilled software engineer who is good at math could probably take some MOOCs, build a portfolio, and do well at data science interviews that emphasize coding.

A skilled software engineer who is good at math could probably take some MOOCs, build a portfolio, and do well at data science interviews that emphasize coding. Many interviews often just ask ISL-level questions (Introduction to Statistical Learning), which is studyable over a few months. On the other hand, it would be significantly more difficult for a new-to-coding statistician to become an excellent coder in a short time ... although I've seen some people do it.