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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?

#91

Post by jacquesm »

First off, has your dad considered hiring himself out as a coach to younger CEO's, CCO's and CFO's? That would be fairly easy money and it is a market where gray hair is an asset, and not a detractor.

That said: being a bit older probably gives him a fairly unique perspective on many of the things younger devs might not even realize can be an issue, and if he were to aim for something that allows his age to work for him by strong association with the demographic that that particular software targets then it could work out well, assuming he has an aptitude for programming.

Excel-fu may well be a stronger card than any of the regular application programming languages if he wants results, it may well be that something like 'R' would be well within his comfort zone.

Best of luck, and props to your dad for even considering this!

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

#92

Post by HeyLaughingBoy »

I'm all for starting pretty much anything at any age.

Now that I have that out of the way, the larger issue is if he will find anyone to employ him at that age. Ageism is a real thing! I spent the last 5 years working at an outfit that the recruiter described as "they seem to prefer seasoned employees..." take that however you will, but half of my co-workers were over 50 and I had at two people reporting to me that were older than I am. BUT, they were all experienced engineers.

I think it will be hard for him to find a job as an entry-level programmer at his age. But if he's been an executive, he probably has enough of a network so he can find freelance clients. The reality of software development is that there is a huge body of work that can be done by someone who's new to the field. This is probably the most worthwhile path for him.

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

#93

Post by zikduruqe »

mortenjorck wrote: post #89
shtopointo wrote: post #87

Everything is possible of course. Will he, an executive before, have the required patience and humility to start at the bottom rung again, to e.g. step into a company with 20-year olds that know more than he does? 20-year olds that may not always be as kind as he would like them to be? If I were in his shoes my answer would be no. But the solution I would consider: have him build his own product. He's of a certain ag…

Beyond age-related things to solve for, his experience as an executive probably has a much more niche range of everyday inconveniences that a lot fewer people out there are building or have tried to build for. Maybe things that CEOs don't necessarily have to do themselves, but that he's noticed his EAs always spent an inordinate amount of time on, and for which a product could make them more effective.

Sounds like being a mentor, career counselor, resume reviewer, business plan reviewer could be some areas his expertise could really come into play.

But nothing wrong with coding if he wants to learn either.

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

#94

Post by GoldenMonkey »

Programming is hard. It is competitive. The programming languages change every 2 yrs.

61 yr old programmers who have programmed much of their careers. Find ageism and irrelevancy if they have not kept up with the changing technologies.

Your father is choosing a harder path. That may not be worth the time, effort and energy. And starting with no relevant skills to programming.

Some better options with competitive pay:

documentation, report writing, database management, QA.

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

#95

Post by devoutsalsa »

agumonkey wrote: post #65
devoutsalsa wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also thinking out loud... I started teaching my self to code w/ the intent of getting a coding job at age 38, and I got my first coding job at 40. Breaking into coding was brutal for me. I couldn't get taken seriously as a junior. I just had to keep grinding until I was good enough that someone would take me seriously as a mid-level. The way I did that was go super deep on learning Ruby super well. Then I found a com…

I'm curious at which point you were considered valuable ? what did you have to show ? some theoretical knowledge ? actually used products ?

I can say w/ certainty the second half of my coding career has been more productive than the first half :)

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

#96

Post by nopenopenopeno »

devoutsalsa wrote: post #40
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…

Also thinking out loud... I started teaching my self to code w/ the intent of getting a coding job at age 38, and I got my first coding job at 40. Breaking into coding was brutal for me. I couldn't get taken seriously as a junior. I just had to keep grinding until I was good enough that someone would take me seriously as a mid-level. The way I did that was go super deep on learning Ruby super well. Then I found a com…

I about to turn 37 and just got my first full-time job as a junior. I actually think my age has given me an edge, but one thing I do have going for me is that I look much younger than I am.

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

#97

Post by globular-toast »

Honestly? No. I doubt it. He won't be able to get in via the front door, at least.

I'm planning to retire before I reach that age as I'm not sure I'll still be able to keep up. Maybe I will, but I'm not counting on it. There's just far too much. Already it can be overwhelming. That's why people naturally move from less technical positions into managerial positions.

Getting in via the front door on the job market means he will be competing with youngsters who are simply better. I don't see it happening and not because of ageism either. It takes years and years to learn this stuff.

The best chance would be if he personally knows someone who needs some specific tasks doing and he is up to it. Then it could be possible, I guess.

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

#98

Post by breckenedge »

GoldenMonkey wrote: post #94

Programming is hard. It is competitive. The programming languages change every 2 yrs. 61 yr old programmers who have programmed much of their careers. Find ageism and irrelevancy if they have not kept up with the changing technologies. Your father is choosing a harder path. That may not be worth the time, effort and energy. And starting with no relevant skills to programming. Some better options with competitive pay:…

> The programming languages change every 2 yrs.

Is this your experience or are you quoting something? I’ve been programming professionally in the same language for a decade. Certainly I’ve worked off and on with others, but if you’re changing that rapidly, how deep of an expertise can you achieve?

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

#99

Post by joshwcomeau »

I used to teach software development at a part-time bootcamp. The part-time program was especially interesting because it tended to attract an older crowd, people with families and full-time jobs.

I don't know if I ever had students in their 60s, but I'm pretty sure I had students in their 50s (I don't know their birthdates so I'm really just guessing when it comes to age).

On average, it was definitely harder for the older students to find work, but it's absolutely possible. Some companies will really appreciate having people with more life experience, more maturity.

I think the first step would be to see if your dad actually enjoys doing software development. Lots of people just hate it. Doing some beginner JavaScript or Python tutorials could be a good place to start. If it sparks excitement, I think he should absolutely consider doing a bootcamp or similar program.

I think it's an uphill climb, but if he enjoys doing it and he doesn't give up easily, I'm confident it could be a viable path for him.

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

#100

Post by dragonwriter »

If it is more about wanting to work than wanting to get paid a competitive industry salary to work, looking for a nonprofit whose cause he is interested that needs talents he has (programming or otherwise, but if he has executive experience that may be in more demand) may be a good option.
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