Transitioning from Web2 Backend Developer to Smart Contract Engineer: Where Should I Start?

After four years building scalable APIs, I feel ready to move into blockchain development — but it’s intimidating. In Web2, we “move fast and fix later.” In Web3, one careless line can freeze millions of dollars.

I want to understand what skills transfer naturally (architecture, security mindset, testing) and what I must unlearn before I start my first Smart Contract job. Anyone who made this jump — how did you retrain your brain for immutability and financial risk?