[hooper_]

I sort of went the other way. I started out as an Electrician, and over ~20 years have moved into Data Science (with many steps along the way).

I can't speak for the US, but for Australia, there are many hybrid roles. A few examples of systems include:

* Home Automation

* Industrial Systems (designing & programing factory control systems)

* Building Systems (designing and programing large building HAVC/Access Control systems)

My experiance has been that people who understand and design both physical and software systems can find well paying work. That said, the career path often convoluted and personal relationships with the right people are critical.