Let's say someone has been involved in e.g. B2B software roles and projects for most of their professional life. But they have a strong interest in a seemingly unrelated fields - something hardware-related like robotics, automotive, manufacturing, etc.

How does one get involved in such an industry? This is the conundrum of one of my colleagues who is looking for an industry switch.

There don't seem to be relevant conferences or meetups in his area, and job applying is quite awkward. He'd be junior in a new industry and expected to take literally 1/3 the wage. Of course he does his fair share of self-study, but no formal schooling for any of these different fields.

I'm not sure what to recommend, what are some things would you do? Go back to school? Take a (much) lower paying job and go from senior to junior (or even intern)? Also, that option may not be feasible given existing financial obligations. One idea I had was maybe for him to try applying to work at startups, who might view one more "holistically" in terms of overall capabilities.