[muzani]

There was never any smooth transition for me. You do it by doing it. Sometimes you have to quit your job. Sometimes you apply for a job you don't yet qualify for, at a pay cut. Sometimes you pay for classes. Sometimes you just sit down and code random stuff every night until someone notices.

When you have done something long enough, opportunities open. It's not because someone has been magically waiting for you. It's more that if you walk down a path, you'll find the other people walking that same path. Many of whom are also much, much more experienced but they've been in your place and are happy to mentor you.

But one catch is you have to already be experienced enough. Build things with a target to get it done in 2 or so weeks max (part time). Then the next thing at 4 weeks. That's one approach.

Draw stuff you see on Codepen. Build a thing in React. Make games. Turn your phone into a massage tool. Make a raytracer. Make a proper AI thing. You want to solve minimum level problems, not do advanced hello worlds, and get a feel for the whole cycle.