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20 years ago I was in a very similar position, but it was perl I was writing instead of python :-) This advice is therefore dated, and exhibits survivor bias, but it is what I know: 1) Shore up your formal learning in at least data structures, databases, and architecture. I took night classes at the local community college, but there may be better ways now. 2) Find something to hack on where you get useful critical feedback both on your design approach and code. Critical feedback on your work hurts, but it is necessary to grow. Open Source can work well for this, as long as it is some project you actually use for something real(ish) so that the contributions you make are driven by your actual usage. 3) Network -- join local user groups, go to meetups, be curious and engage with people there. Folks are usually thrilled to rattle on about the stuff they are interested in, listen, ask questions, care. If you have a decade of experience in some domain, look for ways to leverage that experience in a transition into tech. My first job in this career was as a technical writer and trainer, because my previous career involved a LOT of writing, and I was good at it. My next job was at a company where I had a lot of domain expertise in their target market, so despite having limited technical experience in the role, I brought a bunch of domain knowledge to the table. |