How Do You Change Careers In Tech Without Starting Over
2026-10-07
When I changed careers at 30 to become a software engineer, I expected it to be hard. I expected to struggle to fit in, and I expected to bomb a lot of interviews (I did). What I didn’t expect was how few people would support me.
Find someone who’s done it and ask how. This is exactly what I told my oldest son, who’s getting ready to enter the job market full-time. Outside of the primary social media feeds, the internet is full of free and paid communities on Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites. Reddit works, too, if you can stomach the trolls, because there’s valuable information buried in there.
Build proof of work, even if it’s unpaid. Yes, you’ll probably need to do some work for free, or at least far cheaper than you’re used to. I’ve had to do this in my business over and over. Nobody cares that I’ve been a software engineer for 12 years. They want to know whether I can do the thing they need.
Qué significa para una pyme colombiana y cucuteña: Según el Stanford 2026 AI Index, el empleo para desarrolladores de nivel inicial ha caído casi un 20 % desde finales de 2022, lo que indica que actualizar las habilidades del equipo es urgente.