Few people start out with a good network. You need to meet people. If you live in an area with a lot of software companies, there are probably going to be meetups, clubs, and that sort of thing.

I got into the field by working at a startup in a nontechnical role and transitioning into the engineering department after demonstrating that I could code and helping with some minor projects. I know several other people who went that route, and I think it's viable at startups, but not at large companies.