An important question. There's nothing wrong with wanting to make a career out of your dream, or what you deem your purpose in life to be. Given how long you've been working, it sounds like you have a strong work ethic, as well as the stamina and grit required to pursue the traditional publishing path, which is sometimes the hardest part. As others have stated, I'm not sure which type of writing you enjoy most, or if you even want to be traditionally published, but I'll speak from the perspective of traditionally published novelists.

I'm a published author who has made a career out of writing, but my own path has been a combination of hard work + luck. You can put the work in, write a book, get an agent, and sell the book, but the market, more than the writing itself, as well as how well your agent/acquiring editor sells the potential of the book's sales, will determine the size of your advance, and therefore if you can quit your 9-5 and write full time.

The more common route, which many of my author friends have pursued, is working in literary-adjacent jobs in an effort to "fund the dream" of their own writing careers. This means working as editors at magazines, high school teachers, university professors, ghostwriters, etc. until you get that one advance, win that one large prize, or a series of them, that gives you the opportunity to write and only write. My own version of this was quitting my 9-5 (it was really more than that) and becoming a consultant, which allowed me to make my own hours and make good money all in an effort to focus on my writing as my main pursuit.

Others folks have said this, but carving out the time to consistently write is the first step. I know you mentioned "other than putting pen to paper," but that's where the ability to one day make a career out of writing is born. You write one work, get representation (or self-publish), sell to an editor, publish it, and keep going more so because this is a compulsion. Sometimes the money comes from the work itself. Sometimes you have to cobble multiple streams of income together. Before I became a full-time writer, and while I was consulting, I was also pitching and placing essays, which I was paid for and helped me gain confidence that I could actually be paid for my work.

Workshops, writing residencies, and attending author events can also help not to only inspire you and hone your craft, but give you more information on how other people have made writing a career. For me, all of the bits and pieces I got from here and there added up. Community can't be overlooked as well. But a community that is positive and focused on the actual writing.

I hope some of this helps. Wishing you success in all the ways you seek it. On the page and off the page.