If you have the patience you can try setting up your own CI/CD pipelines.
IMO API dev isn't THAT different from what you already do, just a different mindset. Take this with a grain of salt from me though because I only dabble in API dev.
There's an O'Reilly book "Cloud Native DevOps with Kubernetes" that have me a solid grasp on Kubernetes but the biggest lesson from that section was "don't manage k8s yourself" and that was the BEST advice about K8s I've ever seen. Create a free account with the cloud service providers and play around with k8s (ideally after you've run through some guides on CI/CD). This is 100% your "real world experience".
If you're looking to try a new career field I think you'd likely excel in infosec with your background. Take a look at application security and see if that interests you.
I know your pain as I'm on the tail end of what you're going through, but as an outsider looking in it seems you're in a much stronger spot than I am! They're is light at the end of the tunnel!
EDIT: IT needs specialists AND generalists. From one generalist to another, don't be too upset about not being an expert in your domain. I'm a CISSP that struggles with security analysis but can do security management, privacy, and GRC off a fresh bong rip and a four loko+rip it cocktail. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH NOT KNOWING EVERYTHING BECAUSE A GOOD TEAM WILL ALWAYS LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER
IMO API dev isn't THAT different from what you already do, just a different mindset. Take this with a grain of salt from me though because I only dabble in API dev.
There's an O'Reilly book "Cloud Native DevOps with Kubernetes" that have me a solid grasp on Kubernetes but the biggest lesson from that section was "don't manage k8s yourself" and that was the BEST advice about K8s I've ever seen. Create a free account with the cloud service providers and play around with k8s (ideally after you've run through some guides on CI/CD). This is 100% your "real world experience".
If you're looking to try a new career field I think you'd likely excel in infosec with your background. Take a look at application security and see if that interests you.
I know your pain as I'm on the tail end of what you're going through, but as an outsider looking in it seems you're in a much stronger spot than I am! They're is light at the end of the tunnel!
EDIT: IT needs specialists AND generalists. From one generalist to another, don't be too upset about not being an expert in your domain. I'm a CISSP that struggles with security analysis but can do security management, privacy, and GRC off a fresh bong rip and a four loko+rip it cocktail. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH NOT KNOWING EVERYTHING BECAUSE A GOOD TEAM WILL ALWAYS LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER