[seankimdesign]

I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so fast. It depends on what you're looking for in your career. I too have made a similar move from UX designer -> Junior engineer a few years back. The paycut hurt at the beginning and it took a lot of self-learning, but looking back I'm very with the decision I made. We spend so much of our lives at work, so what's wrong with aligning it with something you love?

Besides, it's not like software engineering doesn't pay. Even before I landed by current SV big tech job, I had more than made up for the initial paycut I took at a local startup.