I started my career in IT (and dabbled a bit with what was then basic HTML, CSS and PHP), then worked for c. 10 years in accountancy but have longed to switch careers and work as a front end developer. But I'm worried that with no recent relevant work experience and my age (38), I will not be able to compete with younger folks just coming out of uni/college. Am I basically too late to switch to this particular career? I appreciate any thoughts/advice you might have on this :-)
At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
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Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#2I wouldn't say its too late, you might have a rough start with learning and everything, but there is a lot of new technologies you can specialize in and come out on top if you invest enough time into it. Keep in mind there will be uni/college folks starting at the same time as you, regardless when you start. It's just about getting things done and get started. :)
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#3It all depends on you. I hear a lot of people in the tech industry that are 40+ complain about the difficulty in getting a job, finding a team etc. But the reality is I am in that category and yes, startups can be a bit harder cause in general the older we are the more likely we have a life, kids and obligations outside of work. And yes, there are a lot of interview techniques are lacking in finding quality people and focus on the wrong things, but that isn't everywhere and it isn't honestly new.
Can you make the switch? It just totally depends on you. You will need to be aggressive in looking for work, you'll have to demonstrate you are qualified and you'll need to show people samples of work. The samples can be personal sites, little things you built, open source you contributed to whatever. You would be essentially a junior web dev, so your expectations of pay and position should be in line with that, if you accept those things and can do the work, absolutely you can make the switch.
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#4At 38 you're still too young to worry about stuff like this. I'd say that's the perfect age to make the switch, and with your background, you'll be asking the right questions when you're taking classes or learning on your own.
You'll actually find that you'll be picking up stuff faster than younger people just starting out.
Since your interest is frontend dev, your main challenge would be wading through the sea of frameworks and tools.
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#5This just popped up on HN, might be worth a read. :)
https://medium.freecodecamp.com/yes-im-56-and-learning-to-co...
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#6I made the switch from civil engineer to full stack developer in my thirties.
I knew some HTML, CSS and PHP and had been setting up websites for family and friends. I started freelancing in addition to my day job. Moved to creating PHP web applications and taking on more and more advanced work.
I slowly picked up larger projects, better clients until I got to the point where I was freelancing full time. Now I have a few clients that keep me busy working remotely. I have had a few contract positions 3 to 6 months at a time but mainly it's been freelance since I made the switch.
It's lots of work, you're constantly learning and trying new things. If you enjoy that and have a knack for programming go for it.
I have interviewed with some local companies I wouldn't say I was passed over for younger employees, mainly just not a good fit not enough experience. I can see where some companies would prefer younger candidates.
I would say GO FOR IT but maybe learn/get back in the game by freelancing/keeping your day job. Unless you can afford to quit your day job during the transition.
I would also recommend learning full stack instead of just focussing on front end, it's becoming more blended anyway. Front end is moving toward React, Angular, and Vue.js and is as complex more tightly coupled to the backend.
Also I would focus on learning Laravel (PHP) or Rails (Ruby) I think these are higher paying with more job openings/interesting projects.
Laravel has a great ecosystem, check out LaraCasts.com.
Rails is great as well.
Good Luck with the transition.
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#7I made the switch from civil engineer to full stack developer in my thirties. I knew some HTML, CSS and PHP and had been setting up websites for family and friends. I started freelancing in addition to my day job. Moved to creating PHP web applications and taking on more and more advanced work. I slowly picked up larger projects, better clients until I got to the point where I was freelancing full time. Now I have a…
May I ask why you made that kind of switch? I'm a SW Engineer and I always liked the idea of being a civil eng.
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#8Never too late, but you'll need to prove yourself. That's hard since you don't have a work history or things to talk about.
You'll be competing with younger folks for entry-level positions. I'd consider a portfolio of code or personal projects on Github/etc. that show your style, coding and otherwise.
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#9You'll find less friction if you look for IT jobs at non-tech companies. Places like manufacturing, airlines, retail sales, and so forth. Ageism seems less prevalent in these places.
Re: At the age of 38, am I too late to change career to front end dev work?
#10Never too late. It's something you can do by simply getting to work learning and building stuff yourself. A front end dev is only a sliver over the full-stack developer you were before in PHP in having to deal with back end stuff, etc.