The main thing you need to do is convince HR and then a hiring manager that you have the skills to do the work. The best way you can do that is to have project

The main thing you need to do is convince HR and then a hiring manager that you have the skills to do the work. The best way you can do that is to have projects on Github that demonstrate your skill, and if you can get a little paid work using the toolset you're targeting, that would be great as well. You have six months, so you can't be too ambitious on the size of your projects. Maybe target three interesting projects that demonstrate the skills you're interested in, each set to take two months of your time. If you really throw yourself into this, you should be doing a lot of hard work, the kind of work a professional programmer does every day. After six months of that, I think you'll be well-positioned for a programming interview, and you'll have some nice projects on Github that will demonstrate your capabilities. Good luck!