I don’t see a good way For a while now, I’be considering going back to school for an unrelated field, but every time I’ve tried I can’t afford it. This is due to various reasons which aren’t worth going into, some my fault and some I can’t control. I can’t even afford to go back to a community college at the moment for stupid reasons. Money is one thing, but the time/opportunity cost is significantly worse. I could maybe manage to afford it, by waiting one or two years, but that’s pushing too much time and reduces the value I’d get out of it.
I’ve Aldo considered maybe trying to move to a different area in software development that I may like better, but that’s an even bigger gamble than going back to school. I’m unlikely to be good enough to work on the things that interest me, plus there’s a smaller amount of roles that tend to lean towards the senior side. My background and experience will almost certainly be a mismatch. It’d probably take me a year or two to feel anywhere near confident enough to apply, and I don’t want to sit around for much longer. I feel that I have a way better chance of getting into school, following through and doing what I need to get a decent job in a new field versus being able to get a job in software development I would like, though the payoff may be a bit quicker/ come a bit sooner. Not too interested in just jumping into any old position making more than I do either, been there done that. Money isn’t a huge concern in the long term anyway. I’ve barely been able to bring myself to write much code in that last couple years. It’s fun to think about, talk about and occasionally plan, but I’d rather just do something else most of the time.
I’m not sure what you were thinking in terms of going back to school. But there's so much opportunity in developer adjacent roles. Taking a gamble could also mean accepting a boring job and doing more fun things in your own time. I had a colleague that would take long weekends and do crazy hiking trips, and he just loved it. Work can just be work, imagine all the other crappy jobs out there, our jobs are pampered in comparison.
Software engineering is one of those fields where knowledge are more generic - a solid set of fundamentals will work for you almost everywhere.
Though:
> I’ve barely been able to bring myself to write much code in that last couple years
Not sure if this is talking about your side project or generally, if it's general, then it kind of does not bode well for a career in software engineering.
Bouncing around for a 10% salary gain seems like BS. Going back to school seems like BS too. It doesn't sound like the goal should be more money, rather that the stagnancy is a symptom.
It sounds like there's something else that you'd prefer to do, but maybe you don't see it? Maybe it challenges your identity, and that makes it invisible. Maybe the cost of failure would hurt too much.
The ambitious route is to look for what you really want. It could well be an important question to answer. There are plenty of mentors and books on this, and motivational classes/coaches are particularly good at finding this.
The less ambitious route is to learn to love what you do. It doesn't have to be anything major. You could just learn to enjoy drawing UI more or writing tests, or documentation. Something really small and common that puts you in flow.
Bonus would be to build something on the side, build a business or something that you enjoy and that makes you money.
I don't think there are many careers with the high pay/mental energy ratio of a mid/senior level software engineer. It's pretty good.
If you truly don't care about money, go out and YOLO it and try stuff until you find something you really enjoy more.
Not all those wonder are lost, so take your time but have/find a goal.
Also, wrt to applying for jobs as a self-taught developer.. They always seem daunting and way over our heads - they are designed so. Most of the times (you need to just interview to get experience on that skill ad well) you'll find out that the person interviewing you is less experienced than you (overall) but more knowledgeable in their field of work (specifically). That goes to say, they stuck it out longer than you, they are not necessarily better or smarter.
Big up yourself, chin up, get movi g. And good luck :)
Are you currently working?
Does your company have any other more interesting projects you could move to for a change of scenery.
Moving to a new framework might be what you need. I moved from Rails to Laravel about 8 years ago. Rails was great but Laravel is even better. Laravel has a great community and I actually enjoy working in it, so I look forward to starting my work day.
Money isn't a huge concern in the long term, but time and opportunity costs are a bad thing?
You like certain areas of software dev better, but you aren't bringing yourself to writing code?
What's up with these contradictions?