You aren't Jared Sinclaire are you? http://jaredsinclair.com/about.html He's a registered ICU nurse who became a developer - I thought this transition is more unique than mine.

More than a quarter of licensed attorneys who graduated from law school in 2000 are no longer actively practicing for a myriad of reasons. A significant number from my year, 2008 hold jobs that don't require a law degree.

These articles should give you a glimpse into the situation. There were several others I really like from over the years, but I can't seem to find them at the moment.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/27/business/dealbook/burdened...

http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2015/04/30/job_market_fo...

I don't believe the general job market for nurses is as bad as it is for attorneys. People also have a great difficulty accepting a potential sunk cost, or refuse to believe that there's greater opportunity elsewhere once they have both feet committed somewhere.