Anyone here transition from a different engineering background (Chemical, Civil, Mechanical..) to software development ? If so, how long did that transition take you until you were proficient enough to be employable? Were you still working during your 'ramp up' ?
I'm really enthused about becoming an iOS dev and have been self learning all year long - from time to time I wonder if it'll actually happen. I've only had one opportunity to get hired as an iOS dev but the job location ended up in another state rather than the my town (LA) as originally discussed. I've had a recruiter tell me I have a strong engr background but not what their clients are looking for.
Given I have 5 years experience working not as a SW dev, and only a pair of iOS apps, am I too risky too hire?
Software is eating the world anyway. Every field you have cited, and you can add education, healthcare,..., would benefit to have better connected, mobile, tools. I don't know your personal history, but if you want to have an edge you probably need to find an intersection between your own field and sw development. To take an extreme example, if you have been working for 5 years in day care, you are better prepared to create the "Uber for daycare" than a random guy with an idea.
I actually know lots of people who came from different fields and end up in software engineering because of the insatiable need of more sw everywhere. And more often than not, people with passion are better than people formally trained. I remember a guy who had a formal education in biology/horticulture but was writing some program in his spare time when he was a teen, and he was a terrific sw dev.