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Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

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Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#41

Post by martin_a »

I'm 35 and I would not start again with programming.

Maybe it's some kind of chicken-egg problem, but I find it harder and harder to stay "on top" of the situation, the ever-changing web ecosystems and whatnot, because I have so little time to learn everything new and understand it and use it.

Maybe it's less of a struggle with other languages, and if you do it fulltime, but I find it stressful and it gets worse.

I don't know how you can handle this situation and feelings when you are older and just starting out.

Anyway: I find it great that he wants to learn something new.

Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#42

Post by TheRealDevonMcC »

As a 61-year-old with almost 50 years of programming experience who recently got a new job, I can testify how almost no one wants to hear from an old person. I program for fun, too, and could be doing that full-time if I weren't working.

I'm only employed now because I'm proficient in an older language (APL). Never mind my decades of experience in many other languages and extensive domain knowledge in finance, not that I'm bitter or anything.

Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#43

Post by omarhaneef »

maininformer wrote: post #32

If I were you, I would ask him to study up and then give him parts of my projects(you said you're a contractor) and we can see if it works out or not. If it does in a couple of years or four he can be a contractor himself under your mentorship. Maybe thats what he's asking anyway ;)

Plus, he gets to work with his son which is maybe what he really really wants.

It is important to distinguish between needing to work and wanting to work.

Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#44

Post by dijonman2 »

markoman wrote: post #23
jpindar wrote: post #10

I am almost his age and despite decades of professional experience I am unable to get a job. Of course, its likely that I'm doing something else wrong as well.

I'm in my mid-50s and while I'm definitely not a high-flyer, I've found work for the last 15 years as an FTE of state gov't in the U.S. I've had friends who've been let go in the private sector as they passed 50, but government employers don't typically do such purges. It may not be easy to get into gov't service at your age, but it's worth a shot. Also, I wonder you should create your own 'Ask HN' to uncover whether…

Do Gov firms hire people without degrees?

Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#46

Post by inglor »

Some anecdotes:

- One time I posted on HN that I am willing to tutor people from Gaza for free (am Israeli). Got contacted by a Nigerian man (over 50+ years) instead. He successfully did FCC and a few other courses and got a job (with minimal mentoring) in the field.

- One time I had a student at a program I volunteer in for a minority group who was almost 70, they successfully completed the program and got a job.

- I've met plenty of 50 year olds transitioning to coding from other engineering gigs (like rail engineering) when they immigrated - my wife's family for example has several examples of people doing that.

Agism is real, there is discrimination but sharp minds who work hard and are willing to start at a junior's salary and at the same conditions as 20 year olds (long'ish hours) find jobs - though that's anecdotal and based on my experienced.

I say: if your father is passionate go for it. Don't forget you're on HN and you should consider entrepreneurial routes like:

- Do any of his old employers need a website or app?

- What about local businesses or programs?

I got most of my early experience building and selling indie (flash) games and working on projects (flash game sites and socket servers mostly) until I was "hireable". The other gigs I got were all websites and apps for family friends and neighbors to get experience (I got paid for whole websites less than I charge for a single hour of consulting today lol - it was totally worth it).

Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#47

Post by mywittyname »

lbriner wrote: post #16

It's great that he is still up for working! At risk of getting flamed... It's tricky I think because even if he can learn to program to a suitable standard, I think the reality will be that people will see him as a "junior" but you will have a different working dynamic since it is easier for an e.g. 30 year old to coach someone who is younger if they are doing it wrong but could be tricky trying to coach an older per…

> could be tricky trying to coach an older person unless they have genuine humility

Bingo. This goes for young people too, but is more important as we age or rise through the ranks. Accepting advice from an "inferior" with grace, humility, and thankfulness is key to gaining respect and learning at the rate necessary to stay on top of a field.

I've taught things to people who were a million times more intelligent than I and 20 years my senior. I gained so respect for them after seeing how quickly they learned, and how appreciative they were of having my time.

One thing I gleaned from the experience of working with these guys was how letting someone teach you something is a great way to impress them.

Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#48

Post by giantg2 »

I can't image doing this professionally at his age. Just so much frustration, change, and BS.

Perhaps he could move into something related but low pressure. Maybe tutoring or teaching (likely not public schools). If he has to enough to retire, then maybe something as a volunteer, like web dev for a local non-profit.

Re: Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?

#49

Post by welfare »

meken wrote: post #12
welfare wrote: post #8

I don't think it's vastly different from someone younger who wanted to shift career into tech without previous experience. I would recommend him taking one or a few bootcamp classes to bring him up to speed, maybe focus on one area in particular (e.g. web development) then find a smaller dev shop where he could come in and support in a junior support role to start with and then take it from there. Maybe develop a few…

What is a “dev shop”? How do I go about searching for one? FYI I’ve been a software engineer for like 5 years, but took the past 1.5 years off.

A small dev shop in my view is a company (1-20 employees) that typically develops bespoke applications as turnkey projects, either from scratch or leveraging some existing stack (e.g. Wordpress applications, Salesforce applications, etc.)

I would look for companies that describe themselves as:

- Website design agencies

- Creative agencies (look at their webpage if they also have development and not purely design)

- Design & Development agencies

You should be able to find a handful just through a Google Maps search.

Reach out to them and ask if they could use some junior development support, and if there's a particular area they need support in.

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