Hey everyone, I’m Erik. I’ve spent over 20 years as a Senior Solutions Architect, mostly in pre-sales for various VARs. I’ve spent a long time selling hardware for vendors like Dell, Pure Storage, and Rubrik, but it’s getting harder and harder to sell legacy products. It’s clear to me that the future is in AI and Software Engineering. I’m currently unemployed, so I’m using this time to focus entirely on a career change. It’s a bit of a challenge to get into AI or Software Engineering without "official" dev experience, but I’m deep in the weeds of learning the software side and understanding all the new AI tools. Right now, I’m focused on my home lab where I run Home Assistant, Proxmox, and Docker. I’m looking to expand how I use that platform and figure out new use cases for AI automation. I’ve also been thinking about how I could potentially start my own business in this space and how that model would look. I’d love to hear from anyone else who has made the jump from the hardware/infrastructure world into software or AI. What was the transition like for you?