I had to start again from the bottom. I found a 2 person startup consultancy that needed someone who knew computers but also could program a bit. I had been coding since I was a kid but knew nothing about it besides how to make little stuff. You need to imagine you are just starting your career again out of school (with no degree). I worked at that startup for over 3 years, then moved to a slightly bigger company that was even more focused on software and on good practices. Then jumped again a few years later, and finally made it to working at Microsoft where I have been for 2+ years. So it was a nearly 7 year journey before I was doing software at the place I wanted to end up.