Code and Coping: Navigating Mental Stress in a Hospitality-to-IT Career Shift.

I fell into hospitality, stayed too long, and hit a wall. So I did the unthinkable: resigned, reset, and chased a tech career. This blog traces that pivot, through scattered courses, into AWS re/Start, past a streak of “no’s,” and finally into Version 1. This is my honest account of the journey through the stress and self-doubt. I cover what actually helped (walks, reading, music/art, journaling, doing scary things, asking for support), the surprising ways hospitality skills carried over, and how the Ikigai framework that clarified my direction. I close with practical advice (research, roadmap, future-proof with AI, lean on your network) and where I’m headed next: CloudSecOps/AISecOps. Do you need proof that starting again is allowed, and worth it? This is it.

What to expect:

• The leap: resigning first, learning fast, and creating urgency that forced progress.
• The toolkit: stress/doubt management that’s practical and repeatable.
• The transfer: hospitality skills that carried over (time management, docs, learning on the fly).
• The inflection point: AWS re/Start → Cloud Practitioner → interviews → landing at Version 1.
• The framework: using Ikigai to get direction and momentum.
• The roadmap: research, skills map, future-proof with AI, use your network.
• The horizon: specialising toward CloudSecOps/AISecOps.

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