[lr4444lr]

Sigh...

Taking a few things for granted here, (that you're probably well-employed and capable in a comfortable work environment that pays you comfortably,) is it so terrible that you just accept and be grateful for that, and find fulfillment, novelty, and self discovery in your time outside of work? Heck, you can even use your skillset to find ways to minimize the time and energy you have to spend at your job in order to maximize what you have to give to those other pursuits. But why burn the bridges of stability and the benefits it brings?

The grass often seems greener elsewhere, and there's nothing stopping you from making a more definitive break with software engineering once you have built momentum on a side project or endeavor that's proven its value to you during dabbling.

Not to mention, do you have a spouse/kids? What would a sudden break mean for them? If you don't, has mid-upper 30s you thought about that timeline? It's a lot harder to handle the early years of your kids' childhood in your 40s struggling in a new career than comfortably in your 30s.