Why I Quit Being an Engineer to Become a Web Developer

December 2022, I had everything I could dream of. I worked as a specialist in Hardware-in-the-Loop systems in the automotive industry. Furthermore, I had a leading position in the company I worked for. In the span of 17 months, I developed from an intern to a Lead Consultant. My boss told me that he has big plans for me. Since I graduated from university with excellent grades, my career skyrocketed. I had a very good salary and the freedom to work remotely from anywhere in the world. I lived on the 27th floor of a luxury condo in the heart of Bangkok. But there was a problem. I was not happy.

The Problem

I felt like I did all the stuff I didn’t want to do. Don’t get me wrong, I love developing new stuff, but all this consulting-related work was simply not what I enjoyed. My job became more and more about managing people and projects instead of developing new things. Furthermore, my company expected me to come back to Germany by the end of June 2023 to participate more in fairs and expos as well as to work more closely with customers. But I had other plans. I wanted to stay in Thailand. I was not happy with the thought of going back to Germany anytime soon. I learned the Thai language after work every day for several hours to participate in the everyday life of the locals. I met new friends and built a life in Thailand.

What to Do?

I had to think about what I want to do in the future. I thought to myself if I really want to quit this job with the good salary and the good career opportunities. Not to forget that if I would go back to Germany, I have many options to work in this section of the automotive industry. Be it in the company I worked for or in any other company. The job I worked for required specific knowledge and companies were looking for people with this knowledge all the time. But as I said above, I was not quite happy with either the position I was in or the thought of going back to Germany. After a long time of thinking, I decided that I want to stay in Thailand. But this meant searching for a new job. I applied for a couple of companies in Bangkok and had a few interviews. Of course, the salary was not comparable to my German salary but that was not so important to me. After a few weeks, I got a job offer from a company in Bangkok. I was very happy about that at first, but then there was a thought creeping into my mind. Couldn’t there be something more fulfilling than working as an engineer?

The Bold Decision

In October 2022, I started to casually learn web development with a website called The Odin Project. During my studies at the university, I took a few extra courses outside of the engineering faculty, in the informatics faculty. I enjoyed these courses very much, so coding became kind of a hobby to me. But I hadn’t had that much time to code with 40-50 hours of work per week and approx. 25 hours of learning the Thai language. But every time I had the time to code, I enjoyed it very much. I felt fulfilled and happy with what I learned and did.

In the days after receiving the job offer, these thoughts became more and more present. I thought about what is important to me. Is it having a good salary and a good career, or is it doing something I love and enjoy? On top of that, I thought that I am still young and if I would like to change career paths or make bold decisions, now is the time to do so. If I don’t like it, I can still go back to the automotive industry after one or two years. But if I don’t try it, I will never know if I could really make it as a web developer. So I made the decision to decline the new job offer and to tell my boss that I will quit my job by the end of June 2023.

Go All In

Now, that the decision was made, I had to think about how to proceed. I had to learn a ton of new stuff in the timespan of 6 to 12 months. The first 6 months I still worked in a full-time job and went to Thai language school. So there was nearly no time to learn web development. But I had to do it. I learned at the weekends and on my days off. The time until the end of June flew by and I had not learned that much to be honest. From July on, I really went all in and studied every day for approx. 8 hours. I built up a solid foundation of the frontend tools and languages. I started to apply for the first jobs in web development around October 2023. I also started going to meetups, job fairs, and networking events. But it was not easy. From most companies, I didn’t even get a response. I had to face the truth. I had no professional experience in the field, no related degree, and a very basic portfolio. But I was convinced that if a company would give me a chance, I would be able to prove myself.

Things Got Serious

By the end of November 2023, I nearly ran out of money and had to find a job very soon if I wanted to stay in Thailand. I applied for nearly every job I could find, and I literally got not a single invitation for an interview. One morning, I spoke with my wife about the situation, and she suggested writing an initiative application to a company she saw a couple of years ago and thought that they could be a good fit for me. So I wrote a rather informal mail to the contact person of the company, telling them my story about how much I want to work in the field of web development and that I am confident they would not regret giving me a chance. To be honest, I didn’t expect an answer, especially since I didn’t think too much about it and wrote very informally. But to my surprise, I got an answer the next day. They wanted to have a call with me.

My First Job as a Web Developer

During the two interviews I had with the company, I was very nervous. I constantly felt like I am an imposter and that they would decline me if I would act like in a normal job interview. So I decided to follow a different approach, like I did in the mail. I was brutally honest about my current skill set, but told them that I am very eager to learn and that I am confident I would be able to grow into any role they would give me. I also told them that I was not looking for a high salary, but for a company that would give me a chance to prove myself in the first place. I think that was the key to get the job. A couple of days later I received a job offer as an intern full-stack developer. Even though the salary was nowhere near what I earned as an engineer, I was very happy. This was the chance I was looking for. I accepted the offer and started working for the company in January 2024.

My Feelings Now

I am a little over three months into my new job now and I can say that I absolutely love working as a web developer in the company. I learned incredibly much in this short time and the company is also happy with my work. As it looks now, I will get a full-time contract after my internship. I am looking forward to all the things I will learn in the future and overall I am very happy with the decision I made. The only thing that I think of from time to time is the salary. I am being honest here. 12 months ago, I earned in one single month the same amount I am earning now in half a year. Of course, this is just an internship, but looking into the future, it will take me many years until I scratch the salary I already had as an engineer. Sometimes I think about if I made the right decision. But in general, in life, it is not about the money in my opinion, but about the things I love to do. I never had so much fun at work like I have now. I work for a company that is very open-minded and where I can learn a ton of new stuff. I think, this is what matters at the end of the day. Being happy with what you do. And I am happy now.