Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

35 Over 35

theamericanscholar.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

121–128 of 128 posts

Re: 35 Over 35

#121

Post by lonelappde »

tjbiddle wrote: post #58

I 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'…

It's the idea that if you haven't done anything notable in your first 35 years, maybe you don't have what it takes. It's the "test of time".

If you look into the biographies of successful people, "winging it" is very much not an apt description.

Re: 35 Over 35

#122

Post by fencepost »

rytill wrote: post #106
FilterSweep wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

And he's probably never even seen Logan's Run!

Re: 35 Over 35

#123

Post by pimmen »

CalRobert wrote: post #70
tjbiddle wrote: post #58

I 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…

Government agencies require developers, and it’s full of older coders at least in my country (Sweden). Lots of benefits such as long vacations. Only problem is they move slow as all hell and they have decades of legacy, which drives the younger developers away because they want to move fast and break things.

Re: 35 Over 35

#124

Post by rurban »

William Gaddis published his first novel (Recognitions) with 33, his next (JR) with 53, his third (Carpenter's Gothic) with 63, his fourth (A Frolic of His Own) with 72, and his fifth and last (Agapē Agape) with 80. That's it.

He was one of the world best novelists. Good things need time. Many even thought he is Thomas Pynchon, but his style is imho much better than Pynchon's. No comparison.

Re: 35 Over 35

#125

Post by CalRobert »

chenning wrote: post #109
CalRobert wrote: post #70

Earlier 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…

My experience with academia was sheer poison. My advisor lied, accused me of cheating with no evidence, and patented the ideas his students generated. Appreciate the comment but... No.

Re: 35 Over 35

#126

Post by drspacemonkey »

tjbiddle wrote: post #58

I 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'…

>Every rotation around the sun my opinion is solidified that we're all just wingin' it, no matter the age and success can happen whenever.

One of the most impactful realizations I've had in my entire life is that, with _incredibly_ few exceptions, everyone is fumbling. All the time. Regardless of age. Some people are just better at hiding it than others.

After I was able to fully internalize that, life got easier. I stopped putting so much pressure on myself. It became "okay" if I didn't know how to deal with a situation, or felt completely overwhelmed. I'm still fumbling, but I've come to terms with it and I feel much better as a result.

If I ever feel really confident I've "figured out" life, that's when I'll get really worried.

Re: 35 Over 35

#127

Post by UneasySausage »

josephdviviano wrote: post #12
hydrox24 wrote: post #8

What a good list. Most Australians would tell you if you asked them that you can achieve something extraordinary, or begin something new after the age of 35. But I think people are just trying to say the right thing. They know it's true in their heads, but I am not sure that their hearts know. I am under the age of 25, so well under 35, and I am hoping to live out this advice, and spend my early years learning to lea…

I didn't do any of this intentionally. I studied psychology in undergrad and graduated the year of the great financial crisis. Also had a bad GPA, 3.0. I had lots of ideas but there was always a big skills gap between what I wanted to do and what I knew how to do (and what my degree said I could do). I am obsessed with fixing problems in medical decision making (back then it was specific to diagnosis, now I'm more ge…

How was the road of entering a CS Graduate program from a non CS undergrad? I majored outside of CS and have been mulling around whether to run for a CS masters or just return for a CS undergrad on the side.

Re: 35 Over 35

#128

Post by josephdviviano »

UneasySausage wrote: post #127
josephdviviano wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't do any of this intentionally. I studied psychology in undergrad and graduated the year of the great financial crisis. Also had a bad GPA, 3.0. I had lots of ideas but there was always a big skills gap between what I wanted to do and what I knew how to do (and what my degree said I could do). I am obsessed with fixing problems in medical decision making (back then it was specific to diagnosis, now I'm more ge…

How was the road of entering a CS Graduate program from a non CS undergrad? I majored outside of CS and have been mulling around whether to run for a CS masters or just return for a CS undergrad on the side.

If you can convince a CS prof at your target school that has pull that you can handle a CS degree, they can pull strings to get you in. Actually this was done for me to get me into the Neuroscience MSc as well (my undergrad was that lackluster). I was actually rejected formally from both programs before an internal memo written by said professor reversed those decisions.

At my school, I was required to take algos and data structures in addition to the program requirements. This was to make up for the fact that I wasn't already a CS grad. Way less time effort and money than a full CS degree! So maybe you can find a similar arrangement?

From my experience, if you're going to pay for more school, you should try to get a masters. A prof once gave me the same advice "it's more work (i.e., a BSc is typically 3-4 years) and in the end you will just have another bachelors". The nice thing about MSc programs is they tend to be more project-based and focus on higher-level concepts so you learn more useful / high-level stuff than in undergrad IMHO.

Good luck! There's always an alternate path :)

Post reply on HN