As somebody who's much older than 36, who also recently landed a job. My advice is don't worry about your age. The most important thing is to get out there and try. I think you'll be surprised at how much opportunity there is, regardless of your age.
Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
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Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#12This isn't magic.
Identify the skills you need. Acquire them. Identify people who need them. Show them.
Repeat until hired.
This works in every industry, to a certain extent, but in tech, it works very well.
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#13>> Maybe I’m deluded. Perhaps 36 really is too old and that’s the harsh truth that no one has the heart to express?
Although ageism is a real thing in tech, cross-disciplined developers bring a lot of soft skills and creative solutions to teams, at any age. Many companies recognize this.
My larger concern is why you would think this at your age. I hope you don't hold hidden biases against people that are over 40 and attempting to restart their careers.
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#14Not sure where this prevailing myth comes from. I’ve went through y combinator twice, one of the batches I was in had an average age above 36. Many have never started a startup before. Paul Graham and his cofounders were 30 and up when starting their first company and much older for y combinator.
People will doubt you if you doubt yourself.
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#15It is never too late to start something you want to do. Never. Ray Croc was a an average mediocre salesperson until 52 when he got into the McDonald's franchising stuff. Colonel Sanders was 60+ when he started KFC. Eric Yuan was 40+ when he launched Zoom. For every example of a 20+ whizkid, there are plenty of examples of people in their 40s or later who have started something and became successful. 36, you have just…
It is my opinion that very few interesting successes made it before the age of 30 - https://mrsteinberg.com/creatives-who-made-it-when-they-were...
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#16What have you been doing until age 36? Did you work in sales? Did you work in some other field that gave you some unique experience and skills? Even if you feel that you have some weakness in technology, you might have some strengths that other people in technology won't have.
I naively dropped out of grad school to cofound a startup where I was pushed out at the 11th hour before it was acquired. Took some personal time off to process the fallout and have been doing some consulting the past couple years. No network. No achievements. No notable educational or professional institutions on the CV. Just what feels like an ever-narrowing path to any sort of career success.
In what industry were you operating? What was your role? What hats did you wear as a consultant?
You sound a little negative and self-defeatist about everything, whereas a lot of people would be able to spin even a startup failure as an amazing learning and growing experience.
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#1736 is not too old for anything. Even if someone says it is, it doesn't mean you should listen to them.
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#18What have you been doing until age 36? Did you work in sales? Did you work in some other field that gave you some unique experience and skills? Even if you feel that you have some weakness in technology, you might have some strengths that other people in technology won't have.
I naively dropped out of grad school to cofound a startup where I was pushed out at the 11th hour before it was acquired. Took some personal time off to process the fallout and have been doing some consulting the past couple years. No network. No achievements. No notable educational or professional institutions on the CV. Just what feels like an ever-narrowing path to any sort of career success.
You have learning experiences that lots of people will never have. Cofounding and running a startup is no small feat. And you will never make some of the mistakes again, either, particularly when it comes to the demands of cofounders or investors.
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#1936 is not too old for anything. Even if someone says it is, it doesn't mean you should listen to them.
That may depend on your juridiction.
Re: Ask HN: Is 36 too old to (re)start a career in tech?
#2036 is not too old for anything. Even if someone says it is, it doesn't mean you should listen to them.
What if I want to be a MD or pilot?