Plumbing. I installed a shower and was taught some basic copper soldering by my father in law. Next bathroom did some very aggressive 6 shower head configuration that required considerable precision. When I can actually purchase a zen3 CPU, I'll be going copper piping on the rig.
Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
21–30 of 164 posts
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#22Anyone acquiring advanced piano or guitar skills/chops?
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#23Timber framing around 45.
(Heartwood School in Massachusetts is a great place; took each of my two sons there separately.)
(Re: OP comments re: kids being a confounding factor, we have 8.)
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#24I'm only 35 but I've continued to pick up skills throughout my life and I've only increased it as I got older: - Started learning masonry and general handyman work in 2018 (33 years old) - Started learning Spanish in 2019 (34 years old) - Started learning piano in 2020 (35 years old) My goal for 2021 is to learn a lot about electricity, batteries, etc. and would like to build a little off-grid backup
How are you finding your progress on Spanish and piano? How are you learning it — private one on on instruction or self study?
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#25IMO, age is not a problem but time management and responsibilities as others have mentioned. If you are raising kids or taking care of elder people, but you have poor management skills, or maybe you're just overwhelmed... then it's going to be problem to learn something, even if it's improving your knowledge in something you're already familiar with.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#26I started taking weight training seriously about a year ago, Then came the virus and the lock-downs. Gyms closed for weeks where I live. At the moment they are still closed again. I didn't want to build a home gym with heavy weights, especially because hopefully gyms will open again some day.
I also didn't want to lose the muscle I built which made me segue into body weight training and calisthenics. Previously I had never been interested in any of that but for the moment it is something I'm really enjoying and I'm making good progress with. I think I will stick to it in addition to the weight training even when gyms are opening up again.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#27Learning to play guitar. I started with self learning. There are excellent tutorials on YouTube and other websites. Got quite frustrated due to painfully (pun intended) slow progress. Then took lessons for six months. Music lessons are expensive! So once I got the basics down, I decided to go back to auto-didactism. Without a doubt, learning to play guitar is one of the most difficult things I have ever done in my life. I think clearing Google interview is way easier.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#28Rock climbing, soccer, disc golf, crochet, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, Angular, management, Buddhism.
Meanwhile I've given up running volleyball, C, C++.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#29I will be 40 soon.
I picked up the rudiments of Sanskrit enough to be able to understand lectures in the language and read straightforward prose. I also gained a basic understanding of Indic philosophy, but I suppose that is not a skill. Now my aim is to deepen these skills to more advanced levels.
Currently I am also trying to learn Physics and Mathematics at the undergraduate and post-graduate level. It's taking forever because I keep getting distracted with life generally. But my aim is nothing less than gaining a solid grasp of our current modern understanding of how the universe works. I hope to get somewhere respectable by the time I am 45.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#30Rock climbing, soccer, disc golf, PHP, SQL, JavaScript, Angular, crochet, sewing