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NOTE: This is NOT my thread but a thread that I saw posted on another forum, so no need to give advice.   Just thought some of you might find this interesting.  The guy has has a cushy job making a quarter of a mil plus a year and he's looking to get into software development.

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https://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=270601

I’ve been comtenplating a complete career change and need advice and guidance from more experienced folks around here.

For context, I’m in my late 20s, married no kids, and living in SF Bay Area. I work in a Megacorp in a very stable and chill non-tech role (business strategy) and have been doing similar line of work since college with a few years in management consulting before switching to corporate strategy. I make pretty good income (around $250k in high base salary+RSU+bonus) and have been in my current Megacorp for just a few months.

The good things about my current job are of course great pay, great benefits, chill environment (my realistic productive work is about 20-30hrs / week), nice coworkers but obviously the bad things are the complacency, no learning, office politics (I’m non-white and I can feel the glass ceiling of my current career path by simply looking around me) etc. I’m lucky to be where I am career wise due to my top academic pedigree but I know deep down my current career trajectory is not sustainable in the long run and the good time will end (along with my high compensation) just cuz I know I won’t succeed in playing the game.

I’m interested in making a complete career switch to software engineering and I know I can do this since I majored in CS in college and I’m also drawn to software engineering’s focus on meritocracy (relatively speaking) and flexiblity in been fairly location independent. It’s also probably a lot more intellectually challenging than my current business role. Ideally I want to break into the top software firms (google/fb/uber/airbnb/quora/netflix etc) where software engineers are the revenue generators.

The questions are:

1. Am I thinking this right and how feasible is my plan?
2. How would i make the switch? Should I quit and join a coding Bootcamp to jump start this process or stay put at current boring job and try to study part time and network/interview etc.?

Financially I know it might not make sense in the short time to forego a stable high income job to pursue something I’ve never done before, but if I don’t make the switch soon, I’m afraid I’d be stuck in a deadbeat environment and long term it will be bad for me. Thoughts?

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Is this guy nuts or what?  Lots of people are advising him against going this route.

Typical 20 something.  Youth is completely wasted on the young.

I agree most with the comments like this one:

With all respect, you have been in this job a few months, you are in your early twenties, and talking about "glass ceiling" attributed to your minority status, comments about "playing the game",etc..I think you need to give any job more time and not be feeling like a victim, it is not positive or worthwhile for you. You are in the very tolerant and diverse SF area, and if you really don't think that your talents will be recognized then I guess you need to move on, but make sure it is the job environment and not your attitude. Many talented folks would love to have your opportunities and income in their early 20s.

This is also succinct and accurate.

Many (but not all) software dev jobs can feel like working on an assembly line. Daily standup meetings, never ending product cycles (sprints), and very tight deadlines. Make sure you know what you are getting into. You have to *really* love coding and/or the product to not get burned out. And then there's the age discrimination that other posters have mentioned. After 35, it's tough field to stay employed in.

Personally, I'd focus on things you like about your current situation and try to make it work for you. Honestly, it sounds like a sweet gig . Finding perfect fulfillment from a 9-5 Mega corp job (in any field or sector) is probably pretty rare these days. Focusing on hobbies and interests outside of work may be a good avenue. Perhaps some open source or personal coding projects?

My original opinion:

Anyone who says that they "really want to be a software engineer" and who also says that they "need" to go to a boot camp/coding camp... Especially if the person states "want to be passionate about coding" as part of their reasoning.

Is entirely self deluded, kidding themselves, and totally full of shit.

Why:  The one measure of being motivated enough to be a software engineer is whether you are capable of learning on your own and there are a multitude of ways today in which you can learn on your own and judge your own abilities - without spending a penny.

Guys like this who ask these questions like they're piercing the veil and asking about  a mystery only to be revealed once they shell out for a coding school - essentially haven't done due diligence on their own interest and ability level.

If this guy has never started a hobby project on his own, then he is clueless and he should stay put.

Yeah, the guy is nuts or something if he thinks that starting out in software engineering will be on par with his current situation.

Also he's assuming that the "top software firms" will even want him.