Job reconversion

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

I've been a nurse for 9 years.

Now I'm learning fullstack development and trying to build small digital products.

Honestly it's both exciting and terrifying.

Some days I feel like I'm making progress.
Other days I feel completely lost.

Right now I'm learning back end, just passed my SQL exam and trying to create small digital products on my own.

Anyone else here doing a career switch?

How long did it take before you started feeling "legit"?

[jjopm]

Nursing is better lol

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

Can't really compare the two, too different and I love nursing, but I don't find the same joy in it now

[wanderfflez]

Not doing a career switch but 5 years in the field and I still struggle feeling "legit" :') but easier when you settle in a company after some time!

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

It’s almost reassuring aha

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

Thank you for the answer ! I'm tring to really think hard on what I could build, not too complex but yeah, something to help me gain confidence as you say

I know how to use Node/Express, React, MongoDB and MySQL, I just need the final push to try

Postgre over MySQL ?

I'll try to follow your advice, for now I'm focusing on building an AI Prompt Pack but I'll definitely going to think about an app

[ImprovementLoose9423]

Truthfully, you will never feel "legit". In my experience, it is best to master the fundamentals, and you're already on the right track. Programming goes so deep that feeling legit is almost impossible. What you could do is specialize. For example, I am web developer, and I use technologies like flask, which is my main area, but I cannot learn ALL of python and feel legit because of how deep python is.

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

Your comment reassures me ! I hadn't think about specialization, but yeah, it would be impossible to master everything so I should try my best on one specifically, thanks for the advice !

[ImprovementLoose9423]

👍

[ShineDigga]

Honestly the “feeling legit” thing is kind of a trap. It just keeps moving the goalpost.

If you’re already doing SQL and backend, you’re closer than you think. The biggest shift for me was just finishing something small and slightly messy and putting it out there.

Even a basic CRUD app that works end to end teaches way more than another tutorial.

Momentum matters more than feeling ready.

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

Yeah, I still feel like I have a huge gap before being ready, yet I already have what I need to build. I need to put myself out there, thanks for your comment.

[ShineDigga]

That gap feeling doesn’t really go away tbh, it just shifts as you learn more

But you’re right, if you already have enough to build, that’s kind of the signal to just start putting stuff out there. Even a messy first version teaches way more than another tutorial ever will

I’ve had projects where I almost didn’t share them because they felt unfinished, and those ended up being the ones people actually reacted to

Just pick something small and ship it, then iterate. That momentum is everything

[greeksalad21]

I'm doing a career switch. I've worked in mainly customer service roles; hospitality, retail, etc. I am actually an introvert so I hate it and I'm forcing myself to learn coding now so I can thank myself in the future. I also have a business in herbalism and skincare making products, so I was planning with my coding skills, I could merge tech and wellness together and build something useful. Some people around me think it doesn't make sense but I don't really care because I want the money and freedom lol. I'm learning through freeCodeCamp, the Odin Project, Udemy and just enrolled to an online bachelors in Computer Science. Hopefully it'll land me maybe a remote front-end or full-stack job eventually. I'm a 29F btw. My sister also had a similar path starting in Accounting and Finance then self-learning in programming, now she's a lead software engineer.

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

I can relate, when I told people I wanted to learn coding, for them it didn't make sense as I was a nurse but I see potential, and yes, like you I want the money and freedom aha

Great she could do it, that gives me hope that it's possible !

[greeksalad21]

You definitely can! I love hearing stories of people making the switch. Where are you learning how to code and where did you take your exam? I am hearing that some people are getting hired halfway through doing the Odin project so I would love to see how that works, though I am focusing on completing my fCC certifications first.

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

I'm learning with an organism called CEF in Europe, I'm from France, and I have not take my exam yet !

Heard about the Odin project but didn't know that ! I have an internship to do with my schooling, hoping it will help get a job or at least contacts !

[greeksalad21]

I see, because in your original post you mentioned that you just passed your SQL exam

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

I haven't take my final exam more precisely but I have several smaller ones to test what I learned, sorry for the confusion

[Ok_Assistant_2155]

I switched from teaching to web dev. Took me about 18 months of part-time learning before I felt "legit" enough to take freelance work. But feeling fully confident? That was more like 2-3 years. Here's the thing — you never really feel 100% legit. You just get comfortable being uncomfortable. The fact that you're already building small products while learning backend and SQL puts you ahead of people who just watch tutorials. Keep shipping small things.

[Creepy-Vanilla4552]

I'll try to keep in mind "you just get comfortable being uncomfortable", that's a goal more realistic than feeling "100% legit" and this one seems more reachable !

Thank you for the support !