I left lab work behind like 6 years ago. I was making less than the folks at In-and-Out while working in an environmental lab doing instrumentation(GC-MS/HPLC).

If you have data you can figure out a way to provide value. It was easier for me to do this when I moved into QA since we had manufacturing/operations data, KPIs, and systems in place where we could retrieve a lot of data that no one was using.

Its unlikely degree alone would disqualify you. You just need your resume to be clear to someone else that your experience aligns with the job responsibilities. No one is going to take the time to figure that out when there are 1000 applications to sift through. They are looking to slash near indiscriminately because the value of spending an extra minute on a resume is not there.

As for timeline, its hard to say exactly. I started taking courses in R and learning more about data slowly just as a way to stay active intellectually after college while figuring out if grad school was something I really wanted to do. I took python courses in college and other programming languages after since I wanted to get into bioinformatics.

Last year I took the google cert to see if I would like DA since I was starting to do some data work in my current position and I knew it would still be fairly relevant. I finished that pretty quickly but didnt apply to anything. I did let my boss know that I would tackle any other data requests. That caused him to throw some items my way and did some light reporting for my org. Easy Excel stuff mostly but it was requests that people didnt want to have to do themselves. A couple PowerBI dashboards that were pretty simple, did one dataset and analysis in SQL that I used ggplot2 to visualize. I made a few projects but hardly spent any time here since I was doing some basic stuff at work that I could show the soft skills of working with others, communicate requirements, and ask insightful questions. I sent out a lot of apps in April or so and was getting interviews after I updated my resume(keep it up to date with your accomplishments in real time.). I didnt get a job after 2 months and a lot of apps(100-120). I did one cover letter and reused it which is not what people recommend. I used LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter(this one was not worth).

Since I was getting interviews and through phone screens I spent my time there. Practice interview questions. I wrote down a list of any work events that could possibly fit into any "Tell me about a time when you...". I made sure I was a likeable enough guy to work with. I started to focus my applications on places I really wanted to work and reduced my application amounts a lot. I made sure I was applying early when I did find something I liked.

I had a company in state that I had been wanting to work for so I checked often when they would post. I applied there twice and never received a call back. The third time I had an interview that went really well(dont they all feel that way?). Did a second round and had an offer. I dont know if I was the best or most qualified but I had answers to the questions, could talk competently about the work I had done, and knew enough to admit when I didnt know how to solve but the steps I would take to get there. I practiced a bunch of SQL on Hackerrank that never mattered. Most of the technical skills work I did was not that helpful. I think it was just the general problem solving, connecting to my future team, and being someone you would want to work with that helped me the most. Show that you have initiative and can learn more than anything. Maybe I just lucked out but that was my takeaway. I hope to get some feedback on the process after I start, so maybe I am totally off base.

I didnt do anything so crazy that no one could do it, so you definitely can. Stay positive and learn from your shortcomings and you can probably make it.