Ask HN: Advice to switch careers from aero eng to software programming remotely?
I have an aerospace engineering degree and I work as a structural engineer in the aviation industry, but I want to switch careers into software programming remotely. I have some programming experience (mainly C++ for computational fluid dynamics analysis) and I'm fairly knowledgeable with computers. Other languages I've dabbled briefly in are JavaScript and Python.
The biggest thing that attracts me to working remotely is the flexibility to live anywhere, and set my own working hours. I also very much enjoy working with software. I'm just at a total loss on how to even begin to switch careers at this point, and I'm not particularly fond of spending more money on schooling. Any advice would be very appreciated!
1 comment
[ 0.21 ms ] story [ 10.3 ms ] thread1 - pick one language you like/fill strong with, play with it and train a bit (like 2-4 weeks) and then go seeking new jobs with this language as your main skills.
It will allow you to discover the job of developer and help you gain knowledge on what you will have to learn (languages, frameworks, etc). You will also be able to see what position you like: front-end, back-end, dev-ops, data, etc.
2 - pick one field you are strong with, search for what technologies you will have to learn. Again, train with these for 2-4 weeks. Go seeking a new contract.
For both, I will recommend to be humble and pick the first job as junior-junior dev. Explain your situation. The first one may not be a remote contract, as you are not trustworthy yet.
In one year (if you are good and serious about it, 2-3 years if you have more troubles), you should have enough knowledge to be able to train with any technologies and adapt quickly to new fields of application.