Stick to what you are good at.

Laalmon is right !! IT is not for all ! People needs to quit posting stuffs like this. I see it every other week and wonder why ..All IT jobs aren't just plug and play..

Some folks have done pretty well in IT but it doesn't work for everyone . Few of my friends were working in gastation 3 years ago , now they're making $120k per year full time . But it doesn't work for everyone though . Good luck

what if he is like one of the friends working in gas station making 120 k in 3 years ?

but if you have a stable income that earns at least 40 k and living in not so big cities like LA, sanfran, Nyc then you should stick with your honest job.. what if you get fired in 1 week after relocating and don't find another one for like 7 months

BA or QA is probably the easy way to make an entry in IT related job. However, it is not as easy as the consultancy advertises before placement. It is hard for any consultancy to place you in job with fake resumes and there are risks involved for both parties. Since these fields are comparatively easy , demand is almost always saturated as desi consultancies try to place their relatives and family members in these fields, so chances of getting in is very low and even if you get a job, you might get fired in a month and might end up looking for another position for months or even a year . Just before you jump into decision, evaluate the pros and cons , and worst case scenarios like you end up not getting any jobs for a year or so (then can you go back to your research assistant job? , what other options do you have etc. ).
Also try to learn how hard those things are before you make decision. If you actually make a move, try to get that training from the placement agencies without leaving your current job and see if think you can market yourself as an expert (5/6 yrs experience) with that training and your effort. Even they convince you to provide proxies and get you job that way , you need to understand that at the end, it would be you who would be working in the project, so you need to be educated about your field.
My suggestion would be , to keep continuing your job and see if you can grow in your own field. If this is not getting you anywhere, then select any one field like QA or BA , research about their job duties and responsibilities, and educate /train yourself about it. Look at peoples' resume working on same field and make your self aware of the tech mentioned in resume. Give it few months and after all these, if you think you can make it ( such that you can sit for your interview yourself or do not need proxy) , then get training from one of the consultancies without leaving your job. But keep in mind that the consultancies will probably make you leave your current job when they start marketing.