Sure, but did any of them get started after the age of 47? Asking for ... um ... a friend.
35 Over 35
101–110 of 128 posts
Re: 35 Over 35
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
This is a great story. It's interesting how someone can have no interest or aptitude in a subject, but then later in life revisit that subject and thrive in it. In college I struggled with my programming classes (did not enjoy them) and decided to go into finance with my Math degree. Later I fell into a programming role and loved it. 25 years later and I still enjoy being a software developer.
I think often you can be fooled into thinking you aren't interested in something because it isn't presented to you in the right way. I still feel this way about math... I am not a "math person" and I find the way mathematicians talk to each other very confusing. Hopefully the move towards digital pedagogy will also be a move to teach the same subjects multiple ways, depending on the individual learner's biases.
Totally agree. I was dropped into a C++ class in college with very little (even using a computer) experience. Later I was eased into web development. Totally different way to be introduced to the field.
Re: 35 Over 35
#103I always remind myself that Paul Gauguin started painting for the first time at 35, and almost at 40 decided to stop being a wealthy stock broker to live as a painter. Regardless of the ethics of that decision (he did leave everyone in his family behind, after all) I do think it's pretty impressive that he picked up a profession like that so late and developed it in such an impressive way (I love his artwork, I think…
> decided to stop being a wealthy stock broker to live as a painter He lost everything after the 1882 market crash and eventually moved to Tahiti to pursue the allure of the 'free-spirited and noble savage'. Whilst there he took three teenage brides and infected them with syphilis, from which he himself eventually died.
Yep, fully aware of his pedophilia. But the thread is not about morally upstanding people, rather of people who chose to start something in their middle age.
You might also want to point out that by the time he became a full time painter sale of paintings was also super low so it wasn't that the decision was purely because stock brokering was a less desirable outcome. He knew he was choosing a life of poverty.
Re: 35 Over 35
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's the age, it's the other life obligations. In my early 20's I was in college. Graduated in 2008 in to the recession and was lucky to have _any_ job. Spent all of my nights learning coding. In my mid-late 20's, starting in 2011, I finally got a crappy job with a pay cut in tech (sort of) doing ad operations. I worked hard and spent the evenings getting better at Java so I could use the Dart For Publi…
Unfortunately I don't think it matters that much. Maybe at one point you could live an alternative life in the seedy part of town if you didn't have kids. But there aren't many alternatives any more.
We're trying to adjust our life so we could live on well under the median income of needs must. In this case it meant leaving the city for a small town about an hour away. Houses are cheap as chips, though.
Re: 35 Over 35
#105I don't understand: Is 35 normally considered too old to make something of yourself by society? I'm turning 28 this month and I feel like I'm quite far ahead compared to my peers, yet feel like I'm absolutely still fumbling through life. And when speaking to friends older than me, the majority seem to still be fumbling through as well. Every rotation around the sun my opinion is solidified that we're all just wingin'…
Yes, I think most people would consider 35 too late to stop one career (where you might already be making something of yourself, but aren't satisfied) and start another (that you might actually love). With reasons ranging from too risky in terms of expected cost/benefit, to you can't learn as quickly, to family obligations won't give you the time or energy required. I personally think the learning speed one is bunk -…
Right, let's say you are 35, you already changed careers once. If you have a family and you aren't rich, you are stuck, that's it, your life is over.
And if you are not? Let's say you got to med school, and let's say everything goes PERFECTLY. You are still 47 with $200,000 in student loan debt, what was the point?
Or you to the army because you always wanted to be a Green Beret, now you are 41 with your career dead and a path into management.
You can still take risks, like starting a business, but now the cost is very real. The question of "When do I start living. What's the grind actually for?" starts to become very real.
Re: 35 Over 35
#106I don't understand: Is 35 normally considered too old to make something of yourself by society? I'm turning 28 this month and I feel like I'm quite far ahead compared to my peers, yet feel like I'm absolutely still fumbling through life. And when speaking to friends older than me, the majority seem to still be fumbling through as well. Every rotation around the sun my opinion is solidified that we're all just wingin'…
I turned 28 this year and I feel the exact same way. I’m floating along okay, but I’m deathly afraid of dev jobs and employers locking me out for being too old or not having some TED talk in my field.
You’re afraid of being too old for a dev job at... 28? Is that a thing? There’s no way that’s a thing.
Re: 35 Over 35
#107Ancient Greeks called the life period when one is about 40 "akme". It is a period of greatest mental skills (can't find it on English Wiki, but here is German: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akme).
The "I'm 30, so I'm to old" syndrome is a consequence of very natural social phenomenon - society wants one to be well defined and established, easy to predict.
Re: 35 Over 35
#108I don't understand: Is 35 normally considered too old to make something of yourself by society? I'm turning 28 this month and I feel like I'm quite far ahead compared to my peers, yet feel like I'm absolutely still fumbling through life. And when speaking to friends older than me, the majority seem to still be fumbling through as well. Every rotation around the sun my opinion is solidified that we're all just wingin'…
>I don't understand: Is 35 normally considered too old to make something of yourself by society?
Possibly. For instance, Einstein was essentially done by his 30s.
Re: 35 Over 35
#109I don't understand: Is 35 normally considered too old to make something of yourself by society? I'm turning 28 this month and I feel like I'm quite far ahead compared to my peers, yet feel like I'm absolutely still fumbling through life. And when speaking to friends older than me, the majority seem to still be fumbling through as well. Every rotation around the sun my opinion is solidified that we're all just wingin'…
I don't think it's the age, it's the other life obligations. In my early 20's I was in college. Graduated in 2008 in to the recession and was lucky to have _any_ job. Spent all of my nights learning coding. In my mid-late 20's, starting in 2011, I finally got a crappy job with a pay cut in tech (sort of) doing ad operations. I worked hard and spent the evenings getting better at Java so I could use the Dart For Publi…
You may want to consider looking into academia. Everyone knows the pay isn't as good, but that can be an advantage. Academia loses (or never gets) a lot of talented engineers due to the pay, lack of fancy perks, etc. There actually are perks though. Also, for some, the sense of personal fulfillment depending on the field or project you're working on can be of significant value (just not monetary). There's also the fear that academic jobs are solely dependent on grants, which is true in some cases, but there are positions that are funded by the institution itself. Also, I wonder how much more "job security" the typical person really does have in industry. Regardless, It's something to think about.
Re: 35 Over 35
#110Earlier quoted context omitted.
I don't think it's the age, it's the other life obligations. In my early 20's I was in college. Graduated in 2008 in to the recession and was lucky to have _any_ job. Spent all of my nights learning coding. In my mid-late 20's, starting in 2011, I finally got a crappy job with a pay cut in tech (sort of) doing ad operations. I worked hard and spent the evenings getting better at Java so I could use the Dart For Publi…
You may want to consider looking into academia. Everyone knows the pay isn't as good, but that can be an advantage. Academia loses (or never gets) a lot of talented engineers due to the pay, lack of fancy perks, etc. There actually are perks though. Also, for some, the sense of personal fulfillment depending on the field or project you're working on can be of significant value (just not monetary). There's also the fe…
What kind of academia? Because the traditional PhD -> post-doc -> prof track is absolutely not a good place for work/life balance. Or are you talking about being a programmer for a university?