Being a software guy here is a second class job. I was fed of the mediocre pay, of boring projects and...sorry, I don't want to sound arrogant...incompetent colleagues. Sure, I'm guilty too. I've been very relaxed for 10 years doing several roles in various groups, as I'm a generalist.
So when management offered me the opportunity to apply for Internal Auditing I saw an opportunity. Here you're rewarded with this kind of offer, not with raises. The task is easier, the pay is a little better and hours are better too.
But now...
...4 years after the switch I'm now fed with having to ask people like they were kids even for the most basic things. Here, I've discovered that my skills are above de average. I'm not a superhuman nor that mythical 10x developer, but I have 20 years of experience and my skills range from writing parsers, CRUD applications, security, OS kernels, raytracers...The issue here is that these are all private side projects, as I'm very shy of sharing code.
I'm adraid I made the "intelligent" choice by social means but the one which most saddens me everyday. I'd like to move back to software development (not at this same place)
I read a lot about how not having a promiment Github profile should not be an issue if one can demonstrate their skills. But everytime I apply for a remote job (via Stack Overflow, via Who Is Hiring, etc.) I get rejected without even taking the first interview.
I know that you can't give me good advice without knowing all the details but, what do you think? Should I infer that having switched to a non-development job I'll be unable to back to software development again?
PS: Sorry for the long question. As you've spotted, English is not my main language and I can't synthetize things as well as in my main language.
> Being a software guy here is a second class job.
I don't know where you are, but I find this statement puzzling. I've lived both in South America and in Germany, and in both cases software development is a well-paid job due to a general shortage of programmers. So question number one would be: are you sure that you looked in the right places? And if so, have you considered moving?
> I read a lot about how not having a promiment Github profile should not be an issue if one can demonstrate their skills. But everytime I apply for a remote job (via Stack Overflow, via Who Is Hiring, etc.) I get rejected without even taking the first interview.
My experience with SO and HN has been fairly disappointing when applying from Europe, assuming they even let you apply to begin with ("remote" often means "from your apartment in or around SF"). You should look at other, more local job boards. Also, getting your CV checked by someone else could be helpful.
> Should I infer that having switched to a non-development job I'll be unable to back to software development again?
No, I wouldn't say never, but you'll need to work a bit to convince future employers that you are the right person for the job. Networking is your friend - either see if a former colleague of yours can recommend you to their bosses, or join the local meetup scene. Presenting something interesting, for instance, is a great alternative if you have to start from nothing.