I'm not talking about learning programming languages if you are already a programmer, but more like something totally different from what you do - like a new human language, new sport or music or any skill late in your life? 40s or later? If yes, what is it and how did you learn?
Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
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Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#2I'm not in the age demographic you mention, but also not far from it. I've picked up chess, German, and golf. I've found the key to getting better (so far) is simply to practice as often as possible, even a little per day. I also think being older I have the confidence that I can learn skills, and I know that I only need to apply myself. In my younger years I used to think you either had the ability or not, but now I know it really only takes practice.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#3I've always thought it's important to learn something significant in each decade of life. In my 20s I started teaching and doing long-distance bicycling trips. In my 30s I moved from NYC to Alaska, and started doing mountain rescue work. In my 40s I started writing and learned to drive a boat on the ocean. That was intimidating in a fishing town, where it feels like everyone else has known how to drive a boat since they were three years old.
In my 50s I hope to learn a musical instrument, although that's a couple years away so who knows what's in store then.
Learning something new keeps us young and humble, and engaged. It also connects us with people outside our current bubble. People talk about our minds becoming less elastic as we age, but that's offset by practice at learning new things. I do think it's good to learn things with some element of risk from time to time; it's part of what keeps us sharp, and forces us to evaluate our own competency level.
What are you interested in learning?
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#4I’m a learner by nature and though I graduated college over 2 decades ago, I have always continued to take classes in the community. (usually through continuing-ed programs at a local university or through local for-profit schools. I’ve heard—but have not explored this myself—that community colleges also tend to offer interesting courses at affordable prices — eg languages, business, vocational etc)
Some classes I’ve taken in recent years:
- Full (semester/quarter long) courses: story telling, creative writing, Alexander technique, languages (8 quarters and still ongoing), a history of Western civilization (a 3 quarter sequence)
- Once off classes: archery, calligraphy, flash fiction writing, editing, language classes on iTalki, history seminars, harmony singing
I also want to say that this is one of the main advantages of living in a big city [0] with major universities (in my case UChicago [1] and Northwestern) and specialty schools [2].
When I lived in a smaller city I couldn’t have taken a fraction of the course I’d listed above. Different strokes for different folks but for me, the creative energy of a big city calls to me.
(just for context, I have a full time job but no kids. I never felt that taking courses outside of work was ever too stressful — just needed a bit of time management)
[0] Chicago’s Park District offers a slew of inexpensive (subsidized) courses to the public.
https://apm.activecommunities.com/chicagoparkdistrict/Activi...
[1] The Graham School has a catalogue of humanities classes open to the public.
[2] Second City Chicago has programs open to the public.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#5I'm 46. I just started taking Salsa dancing lessons.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#6I learned Dutch, passed the state exams and obtained my citizenship in my late 30’s / early 40’s. I honestly didn’t find it any harder than learning when I was younger, only that my life was very different (lots more demands, responsibilities and distractions). I haven’t picked up anything new since then really though, I guess you might count learning how to invest in stocks, due diligence, fundamental analysis but that’s not a huge subject like a language is.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#7Video creation and editing [1]. I used to speak at tech conferences but after taking a long break, I wanted to get back into some form of instructional content. My kids are obsessed with YouTube, and I started a new startup, so I figured I'd give it a go. As for how I learned, well, doing it, and of course, watching YouTube videos.
[1] https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmIIOHKgJnGQruIVD_Zx71g
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#8I’m 45 and just picked up horse archery. It’s been an amazing way to challenge my self physically and mentally.
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#9i got my masters in CS when i was 41 without prior dev experience if that counts
Re: Ask HN: Have you picked up any new skill from scratch in your 40s or later?
#10Maybe not the example you seek, but I learned programming (web development) from scratch when I was 37yo. I did it online (freeCodeCamp), by myself. 6 to 8 hours a day for about 8 months until I got my first job.
Now I am 41, I am still new to the new career and continuously out of my comfort zone. But once I am more used to the pace and life of a programmer, I will probably want to learn something else. No idea what yet, but I will.