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How long and how did the transition take place for you? Any tips you could offer to anyone looking to take a similar path?
thegreatbelow-
The good news is, to be a software developer you don't need any qualifications. I have no professional software qualifications or certifications. There is also a massive shortage of people who can code.
You do need to be able to demonstrate that you can solve logical problems - most practical, handy people are good at this - and have a portfolio or GitHub public profile showing your commitment to the field.
I have dabbled in code on the side for over 20 years so I had a lot of examples to show, but then again being a qualified doctor got me a lot of automatic rejections at HR stage as I didn't fit in the pigeonhole.
My first job out of medicine was at a telemedicine startup, doing content writing and marketing. Then I did a bit of freelance PR and web design work off the back of that job with someone I knew who did PR. Then I started applying for web development jobs and got one with a small consultancy. Then I got my current job in commodities trading software through a specialist C# .Net recruitment agency.
The rough steps for anyone to be a programmer:
Get competent. Do courses like FreeCodeCamp and look through examples on W3Schools, work through tutorials, do code challenges and tests on these sites. Don't worry too much about the language as you can switch pretty easily once you know how to write code. But I would advise looking at job requirements on job sites and choosing a popular programming language. C# and .Net Framework are in huge demand.
Build up a portfolio of work. Use the skills you learned in step 1 to make things. Simple applications, web pages, basic things like a to do list web page. Just show you have basic programming skill, which a lot of "programmers" surprisingly lack. There are a lot of lazy, bullshitting charlatans in the field. But you can be better and beat them.
Play the numbers game. Keep applying for jobs, sign up for the recruitment agencies, put in hundreds of applications. Take notes after your interviews and work on improving. You will get better at interviewing and it takes practice. Also be humble. Expect a low salary for your first year of work, then you can ask for far more for job 2 like I did.
Invent
Very interesting. I think life coaching can be a good olive branch for people who feel stuck in a career or way of thinking about work.
I started this thread a long time ago because I was unhappy as a doctor. I have successfully transitioned to C# .Net software developer - on my second job now and far happier.