I got into the field because (a) I'm naturally drawn to coding since playing with Logo and Mindstorms as a kid, (b) I like the feeling of making things. I wanted to be (among many other things) an inventor when I was a kid and this gives me that feeling and (c) the pay's not bad (even though I make a European dev salary, so the pay's quite modest relative to some here - my perk is a far more relaxed work environment).
I got started by working in tech support (no real job requirements besides being vaguely "good with computers") and then coding some tools that made my team more efficient. Then I told my managers that I could be a full-time force multiplier instead of a single-unit contributor (in other words, generating more value for the company) and they liked that idea and what I'd done so far so they helped me transition pretty quick. I continued working in support tools development for a couple of years and really enjoyed it.
There's a footnote here that I moved from the US to Europe because labor laws are more relaxed here so I was able to code for work for free on my own time without there being an issue, which I needed in order to show what I could do for the company to get that initial foot in the door for the support tools dev position. In the US, they told me they couldn't let me work for free (I suspect because of the Fair Labor Standards Act, but I never asked) so I requested and got a transfer.
Now I work on anti-cheat software for games. I angled for this because I wanted to get closer to security-related work without being exactly infosec, and there was a clear need for this at the company. It's a little more vanilla than I was expecting, but I have a ton of autonomy and voice in guiding my team's work, so I'm happy.
My advice for anyone interested in making software full-time is to start by doing whatever you can quickly get hired for. Then make software to make you better at doing that. Don't wait for someone to give you permission, because they won't (and this continues to be a rule even after you "make it" - continue jockeying for what you want and don't wait for permission unless there's no other way). If you show (with actual live code) that you're a force multiplier at your company's thing using code and they're in a position to hire someone for that work, then make your case for why you're that someone to whoever has the power to make it happen for you. It doesn't even have to matter if they don't hire SWEs. You can negotiate contract work if you have to. Everyone needs software even if they're not a software shop themselves.
I got started by working in tech support (no real job requirements besides being vaguely "good with computers") and then coding some tools that made my team more efficient. Then I told my managers that I could be a full-time force multiplier instead of a single-unit contributor (in other words, generating more value for the company) and they liked that idea and what I'd done so far so they helped me transition pretty quick. I continued working in support tools development for a couple of years and really enjoyed it.
There's a footnote here that I moved from the US to Europe because labor laws are more relaxed here so I was able to code for work for free on my own time without there being an issue, which I needed in order to show what I could do for the company to get that initial foot in the door for the support tools dev position. In the US, they told me they couldn't let me work for free (I suspect because of the Fair Labor Standards Act, but I never asked) so I requested and got a transfer.
Now I work on anti-cheat software for games. I angled for this because I wanted to get closer to security-related work without being exactly infosec, and there was a clear need for this at the company. It's a little more vanilla than I was expecting, but I have a ton of autonomy and voice in guiding my team's work, so I'm happy.
My advice for anyone interested in making software full-time is to start by doing whatever you can quickly get hired for. Then make software to make you better at doing that. Don't wait for someone to give you permission, because they won't (and this continues to be a rule even after you "make it" - continue jockeying for what you want and don't wait for permission unless there's no other way). If you show (with actual live code) that you're a force multiplier at your company's thing using code and they're in a position to hire someone for that work, then make your case for why you're that someone to whoever has the power to make it happen for you. It doesn't even have to matter if they don't hire SWEs. You can negotiate contract work if you have to. Everyone needs software even if they're not a software shop themselves.