Programming from the Humanities

[fizzbucket]

I'm finishing an Oxbridge doctorate in the humanities, just in time for the entire academic job market to disappear. Meanwhile, I've written a novel which is about to be published with a fairly substantial advance into a post-COVID environment where books aren't really selling.

For many years I've been programming as a hobby, a way to think logically and clearly which isn't stuck in the ambiguities of my day jobs. But now it's starting to feel like my best chance of a career is in programming. What do people reckon is the best way to move in to this new field quickly, given that I don't have any more than a few months job experience in computing to offer and am old enough that I really don't want to do yet another degree, especially since I've been spending my free time on non-computing things, where I've succeeded but not in a way which helps me get jobs in a new field?

I'm confident that I can write decent clean code with a basic awareness of algorithms and complexity in a handful of languages, and have code to prove it if asked, but don't really know how to get to the stage where hirers might ask.

[sloaken]

To help you refine, are you looking at how to become a programmer / developer, or

Are you looking to get a job to pay the bills?

Or are you looking for something related to IT.

I assume a degree in humanities involves a lot of reading and writing.

There are plenty of places where your more social degree of humanities would be a great fit, but are not SW development. When I read your post and see in your spare time you are on 'not-computing things'. Most people who are really good at SW development, or any profession, find its something they do in their free time.

[AnimalMuppet]

Technical writing might be an option to consider.

[brudgers]

The only way to have a career as a programmer is to find a job as one. Without a network that includes programmers, that's hard. Good luck.