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I made this exact career transition, the first ~10 years of my career were doing backend development at web companies (mostly Python, but later Go) and I switched to working in C++ in the autonomous vehicles industry. The key is really just to apply to these jobs, even if you don't have direct work experience. I had a blog on my website that had a lot of C/C++ stuff which I think helped a bit, but in the end I just a…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Keep in mind that the layoffs earlier this year have still had a huge impact on the job market for software engineers. People keep saying this like it's a fact but I've not seen anything in the employment data to suggest this is remotely the case. Tech unemployment is startlingly low, and even during some of the massive layoff months, tech was still adding jobs faster than it was shedding them. Last I checked, tech…
I think what I’ve seen is that with the near hiring freeze at Amazon and a substantial slowdown at Google means that the next tier down of employers are having their pick of candidates that they might have had a harder time landing when Amazon and Google were hiring 5-figures of SWEs every year. So, even if everyone ends up being employed, the selectivity could still be higher than normal. I know we amped up our thre…
Keep in mind that the layoffs earlier this year have still had a huge impact on the job market for software engineers. Many companies moved their hiring bar higher and have gotten more selective over their canidates. 2 years ago, if you pretty much had a pulse you could have jumped fields (yes, some jobs did require specialized knowledge). Many Canadian companies are not doing "interesting" things so I can understand…
> Keep in mind that the layoffs earlier this year have still had a huge impact on the job market for software engineers. People keep saying this like it's a fact but I've not seen anything in the employment data to suggest this is remotely the case. Tech unemployment is startlingly low, and even during some of the massive layoff months, tech was still adding jobs faster than it was shedding them. Last I checked, tech…
As a hiring manager, I'm not averse to hiring someone with non-domain experience for a domain-specific role with but I usually have a few apprehensions. You can make yourself a better candidate by pre-empting these questions: * Were you actually good at your previous domain? (Be Good) * Does this person know they actually like working in this new domain? Or do they just think it might be "interesting"? (Show some pro…
Can you define "good"? and, more importantly, how do you convince others that you're "good" within the context of a job application?
As a hiring manager, I'm not averse to hiring someone with non-domain experience for a domain-specific role with but I usually have a few apprehensions. You can make yourself a better candidate by pre-empting these questions: * Were you actually good at your previous domain? (Be Good) * Does this person know they actually like working in this new domain? Or do they just think it might be "interesting"? (Show some pro…
> Were you actually good at your previous domain? (Be Good) Can you define "good"? and, more importantly, how do you convince others that you're "good" within the context of a job application?
A more general indicator is how far down into the details you can dive. Another is how well you can teach things to others.
Find a company that does both, and that will hire you for your experience in one. Maybe that's a Python company that needs to do Rust stuff, or occasionally has performance constraints that mean they need to use C?
I did this with a consultancy a few years ago. I did some Symfony work for a client they needed help with, but there was an (honoured) agreement that after that I would never have to do PHP work ever again. After that I moved into Python & Golang work.
Alternatively, what I did last time was start my own company and then use the most appropriate technology (Elixir in my case) despite not having it on my resume.
The downside though, was financial turbulence and ultimately a bit slower learning on the tech side than if I’d been a FT employee using it instead of also being busy talking to customers, doing support, marketing, etc.
As a hiring manager, I'm not averse to hiring someone with non-domain experience for a domain-specific role with but I usually have a few apprehensions. You can make yourself a better candidate by pre-empting these questions: * Were you actually good at your previous domain? (Be Good) * Does this person know they actually like working in this new domain? Or do they just think it might be "interesting"? (Show some pro…
> Were you actually good at your previous domain? (Be Good) Can you define "good"? and, more importantly, how do you convince others that you're "good" within the context of a job application?
Your technical competence needs to be reflected in the business benefits you have contributed to. Even refactoring code can be a win if it speeds up things, reduces costs, increases profits etc.
Increased profits are always considered to be "good".
This is normal, keep going you're on the right track. Apply everywhere, don't stop if you don't meet the requirements. But, do some research into the role and company. Show in your cover letter that you've put in lots of effort and try to convince them you're a good fit for the role.
You might get some more targeted responses here if you could give us an example of the types of roles you're applying for. As noted some fields are tougher too so I think general advice is only going to get you so far and specifics may help in so far as you are able to share.