Having an engineering degree/experience is a plus . . . as far as iOS experience . . . if you can create your own apps that's a good first step . . . I would keep your day job and try to find some freelance iOS projects you can work on . . . just be cautious by padding your deadlines so you have plenty of time since this will be nights and weekends work . . . have a contract . . . invoice/review incrementally . . . so you know the client's happy along the way . . . my degree is in engineering . . . you learn lots of skills as an engineer than can help you as a developer, project management, etc . . . plus your education is a plus . . . so 5 years wasn't a total waste of time . . . but you'll need to get more projects/exp. under your belt to get hired full time as an iOS dev so get some freelance exp. and keep your day job. Keep up with the latest, trends, tutorials, start writing tutorials/blog posts get involved with meetups in your area. Connect with some other iOS devs and they can help you get the right skills to get hired. Good luck with the transition.