[sinman]

I think solutions to this are more likely to come out of introspection of what you actually want in life, rather than a clever hack that gets you a high-paying programming job straight away.

Some questions that might be interesting to ask yourself:

- How much money do you actually need? - Are there things beyond money that stop you wanting to be a junior dev (status, networks and friendships, parts of your identity)? - Could you afford to take a year or more off work? If so, would a job where you have a junior dev salary be strictly better than that, financially? - Are there ways you could "actually build something" that would be satisfying to you, that don't require a career jump? For example, maybe there are roles or companies in your current industry that offer better work/life balance (at the cost of some salary) and would allow you time for hobbies. - You don't have to be a developer to work in tech. FAANG are massive companies with all sorts of employees (lawyers, doctors, investors, finance people). Are there roles at the big tech companies that would fit into your existing skill set, where you wouldn't take such a hit to salary? Would those satisfy you, or are you more concerned with changing your day-to-day work?