I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my post. I'm humbled. There's some good advice here, some great perspective, and I've found it helpful. I hope that anyone in a similar position who comes across this post also finds value.

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback and experience. This is helpful. I'm no longer very young -- mid-thirties -- and so I feel some pressure, mostly internal, to dive into something sooner rather than later.

Your point about a high barrier to entry tickles my brain. I'd love to combine my communication skills, particularly my writing and documentation skills, which I've worked hard on, with my software skills. Ideally in service of a non-profit. I think there's a good opportunity there.

Again, I appreciate you chiming in. I value the input.

Thank you for the kind response and offer. I've sent you an email.

I absolutely agree that this is not a unique situation, and I see -- and even know -- people who're going through the same experience.

> There will be a culling of this profession. Some will reinvent themselves and push forward, some will find peace in leaving it behind. Some will be excited to enter it, and some will be scared off by the sight of the wreckage. It's a challenging moment, and the truth is it's just not going to be for everyone.

This is a good point.

Thank you for taking the time to share. I appreciate it.

Great post. I do think every experience has something to teach; that can be very difficult -- I'm experiencing that now! -- but we just have to be open and thoughtful. Thanks for sharing this.

Thank you the response and for the encouragement. I appreciate it.

Frankly, I'm humbled that you created an account to reply to my post. Thank you for taking the time to do so.

> You'll be alright and at the very least, I hope you take away that you're always more than the sum of your parts.

> You have no control over those variables and you're better than that.

These are life-long lessons that I continuously learn and re-learn and, imo, can never be overstated. Thank you.

> ... you may want to try and leverage your non-profit creds and see what NP consortiums are out there.

This is excellent advice, and something I will start doing.

Thank you again for the advice and kindness. It means a lot.

> Remember, it’s not about you, it’s about current economy and politics. Sometthing out of your control.

This is a really important point to remember, and I appreciate you bringing it up.

> I’d try to start a startup, build and sell some product. One after another, until something sticks. Even if nothing sticks - i get out of it with valuable skills and experience.

Another great point. At the very least, I'm learning and building skills, and that's not time wasted.

Thanks for taking the time to share, and I hope you're now in a position you find meaningful!

First, thank you for taking time to respond. I really appreciate it.

> You pushed through a math refresh and excelled in a technical institute towards the goal of working in software. Also, getting a Masters degree is no joke - that's a lot of effort and likely takes getting accepted to two programs, pushing through all the work required, possibly doing presentations, etc.

Thank you for the kind words. This is encouraging. It did take a lot of time and effort, and I'm proud of what I accomplished. I do hope this comes across to potential employers.

> Maybe volunteer at a non-profit that interests you personally and see if they have IT or software related things they need help with.

This is helpful advice. My favourite job was at the non-profit -- the work was meaningful and the people were great. My dream role would be to work for a non-profit, one ideally geared toward environment / ocean / clean energy causes, so I'll look at opportunities here.

> Also learn to use AI in your coding efforts.

I've definitely been taking advantage of this. I use Perplexity and Claude (paid), and they've proven to be valuable learning tools. I focus on using them as tutors, to help explain ideas and concepts, and resist using them to do the work for me.

This actually brings up another, somewhat related question. I graduated with someone who uses AI tools to do almost all his coding. He's created some really cool projects, but I'm not sure if he fully understands what he's made. Still, he's putting in the time and effort to create something, and I respect that.

I'm trying to limit how much AI does for me, but that means I work slower and have fewer projects. I'm not sure how to walk this line -- AI can certainly help to build things more quickly, but I also know, especially for juniors who don't know what they don't know, that this can lead to bad habits and gaps in knowledge. To what extent do I use AI? I'm still figuring that out...

Thanks a ton for taking the time to chime in. As you and the original responder suggested, I'll continue to build things and expand my skills.

I think you made a really important point about re-framing this as a "learning and exploration opportunity".

Thanks again for taking the time to share some feedback.