Grew up programming for fun as a hobby. Came to the same realization you did after working at a job that was not fulfilling after graduating in my field. Thou

Grew up programming for fun as a hobby. Came to the same realization you did after working at a job that was not fulfilling after graduating in my field. Thought if I loved doing it for fun why not try it as a "real job". Applied at a bunch of places even though I had zero work experience or matching degree credentials. What I did have though were a bunch of side projects that I had worked on... Interviewed with some companies and found out that I was actually pretty competent. That process and working at said companies gave me the confidence boost that I needed to know I wasn't fully kidding myself about my skills. Rest is history. I feel like if you love it as much as you say you do, you should probably have similar projects ready to show. Not these side projects for the sake of getting hired or bootcamp type demo things, but things born out of your passion. Take this with a grain of salt for today's age, but this is what I did back then (10 years ago..showing my age here haha).