Here are strategies that might help you to great extent:
1. Take Career Break or Put Extra Efforts
If you have strength, resign right away. No doubt it will be painful but this pain much less than when 15 years in IT and complete manual. Or if don't want to resign start putting extra efforts along with Job. Consider your self growth as part time job for your own benefit in long run.
2. Build Plan before start putting efforts
Prepare plan for automation, Its automation that save you in this scenario. Planning plays important role for career uplift. Don't miss this important phase.
3. Understand which technologies to learn
List down all tools, technologies that you want to learn. Next 1 year give for your self growth. Any problems in preparing list mail us at info@nextgenerationautomation.com. we would be happy to help you.
4. Do Googling every day
Browse Google and start collecting information for plan that you have created.
Example Learn Selenium with Java next 3 months.
5. Do Youtube viewing
Open You tube and browse maximum view count videos applicable as per your plan
6. Read Automation Blogs
Open blogs and and collect good information. Next Generation Automation blog 1 of blog that will help you in this phase. Link: https://www.nextgenerationautomation.com/blog
7. Join Online Courses
Enroll for online courses from Udemy.com as per your plan.
8. Do Hands on as much as possible
Open IDE and write code as much as possible, just don't scare. Remember coding is most beautiful thing in IT. When you write code, use best coding practices to write as effective code as possible.
9. Notes Preparation
Prepare your notes for all steps and push in your google drive as you done. Notes help you tremendously in future when you need to back track what all you have learnt.
10. Repeat Above Steps for all leaning plans
Follow this practice for 1 full year and after 1 year you never feel scare for your survival in IT.
Thank You!
Ankur Chaudhry
Founder Next Generation Automation
Building better QA for tomorrow