I agree with this. For my first real job we were monkeying around with data and analysis, but we all envied the people who were doing the "high level" strategy

I agree with this. For my first real job we were monkeying around with data and analysis, but we all envied the people who were doing the "high level" strategy i.e. coming up with metrics, and figuring out the direction of the company. It turns out that those "boring" database and statistical analysis skills lead to many many dividends in almost every single job since.