It might be better for your overall state of mind and health if you keep on doing the things you gravitate to as a hobby, get better and better at them, and then if one of them turns out to lead to a job, be pleasantly surprised.
If you currently have a job I would not change jobs without a new job lined up.
Many people have an impression of computing work as easy. Nothing could be less true. Its also very stressful at certain times, because you may really need to finish some thing and you and your team may be expected to work pretty much all the time until its done. That means that if you're working on site, you may need to put in very long hours, how long? its smart to keep a sleeping bag, a clean set of clothes, a towel and a set of toiletries, shaving kit, toothbrush, toothpaste.. etc. at work. As well as a supply of good quality protein.. (protein bars, or similar, and other instant foods)
Most computing workplaces also have showers and kitchens, and they often encourage people to basically almost live there.
Also, even so, when you work from home you are often working much more time wise than if you were on site!
When a project is nearing completion you might essentially be working "all the time" when you are not sleeping or eating (often at your workstation). You often might not get to have weekends like normal people do. Instead you might work the equivalent of a twelve hour day for weeks at a time (rarely more than a month or two) basically tied to your computer and phone, when a project is demanding it. (Other times it may also be relatively slow- you may even have time to go shopping, do your long overdue laundry, hang out with a friend, go out on a date or catch a movie.)
Maybe hardware is different. If so, great for it and its workforce.
I want to go into firmware programming and electronics as a career. Im not exactly young (33) so this will be a risky career change.
Questions are:
1) What kind of freelance gigs can someone get in this area?
2) Is working remote for a company a real possibility?
3) Is demand growing due to the IOT trend?
Any information you can give me would be very appreciated and could save me a lot of time and mistakes.