Ask HN: How did you move from IT/software to something unrelated?

I'm sorry to be blunt, but if this is the case then your skills are very much rock bottom. So you have two options:

1. get better at your job. IT is in boom now, so if you can't find a job in a reasonable amount of time then there is something very wrong and you should do something about it.

2. admit that you are not only not any good, but you don't even care. But don't try to sugarcoat it with something like "to build versatile skills that might allow more job flexibility in the future" - at this point in time, being a frontend dev is probably the best occupation to have "job flexibility". In this case, of course you should try to find out what you like doing, eg. if you have a hobby, that you could take more seriously, for example.

Your best bet would probably be to combine 1 & 2, eg. just suck it up until you get hired as a UI dev for a company that allows repositioning later. For example, you can start at a financial firm as an IT person, learn the business and then use internal mobility to move to the business side of things. I've seen this happen multiple times. Of course, this approach requires significant effort on your part but offers great returns.

You will probably think this is partonizing, but anyway: I don't really get how working for a non-IT company that hurts your body and soul is better than working at a non-hip IT company that only hurts your soul. I can guarantee you that you'll feel worse at "Starbucks, McDonalds, retail" than you have ever felt in your IT job. A vocational job or maybe construction would be more suitable in doing something for your well-being, but not the kind of customer facing jobs you describe.

I dislike the interview circus, too, but there are lots of small worthwhile companies that don't require you to jump through hoops and waste your time with interview marathons.

"IT is in boom now"

Are you by any chance living in the 80-90s? :p. Apologies but I beg to differ. My personal opinion is that the field has peaked, which is why you are finding people writing up a webpage and calling themselves a startup. Of course there are exceptions but I am referring to the majority here. There is also large amount of redundant work happening.

IT is and will always be a complimentary field and cannot stand on its own. We are now going through a transitional phase where what was once classified as a white collar job is shifting on the gradient towards blue, so it lies somewhere in between. Maybe Cyan? :).

If he had said he wanted to do something like become a teacher or tech tradesman of a different kind, that would be a different story, but legions of people in the low-paying, low status, dead-end entry level jobs he is describing can only dream of rising into IT employment, and there are plenty of "coding bootcamps" to "help" them get there. This guy already has an opportunity that millions dream of, and though his grip on it may be tenuous, he needs help in firming it up.