How old is too old to jump into software development?

#1

Post by WEngeneer » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 4:38 PM UTC

Hello HN, I am tech hobbyist and a long time lurker here. In my free time I did lots of projects like games, arduino based appliances, even freelanced a little bit. Problem is that I do not have any official experience that I can put on my CV and my job is unrelated to tech (employed in medical field).

I am interested in switching to tech career, but afraid that it is very unlikely at my age (34). There are many similar questions on HN, stackoverflow and quora but most answers are about learning to code rather than career and bread-winning side of it, so lets want to clear this up now, I code C, C++, Python, JS, Rust, Java and stay in touch with latest trends but have no official qualification to prove this. Decided to switch to coding for mainly for challenge and ability to work from home and spend more time with family, want to hear from field experts.

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#2

Post by AnimalMuppet » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 4:54 PM UTC

How old is too old? You're too old when you're dead. Not until then.

How? Well, there are many ways, but in your position... what is your position? What do you currently do? In your current position, are there programming jobs you can take on, kind of around the edges of your current work? Or, are there programming teams/projects where you could apprentice? The easiest way to break into it is not "Hi, I'm some random guy who has some hobby experience, will you hire me?" The easiest way is "I didn't have the title, but here is the value I delivered at my current job."

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#3

Post by rikroots » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 4:56 PM UTC

I dabbled with building personal websites for 20-odd years before getting my first "professional" gig back in 2014 at age 49.

The key difference between hobbyist and professional web development, in my opinion, is not so much programming knowledge but rather knowing the tooling that surrounds a project (git in particular, testing rigs, etc) and learning to work as part of a team (how to estimate work, what to do when you blow up the git repo, etc).

On qualifications - there's companies out there that insist on some sort of qualification before they'll go further than your CV. There's other companies that care nothing about such paperwork, but want to hire people who are good at solving problems and eager to learn (quickly!) from colleagues about all the stuff needed to do the job beyond the code base itself.

PS: don't leave the career change too long - ageism does, sadly, exist in the tech industry. It took me over 800 applications to land that first gig!

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#4

Post by Cyclone_ » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 5:05 PM UTC

From a pragmatic standpoint you'll likely work until you're around 65, so as long as you have enough time to learn the field and understand it I'd say at 34 you have plenty of time.

Credentialing for software development is much easier than fields like law or medicine, so as long as you can prove you can code well there will be plenty of opportunities open to you. Showing an open source project contribution or getting some certification might be a good start.

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#5

Post by giantg2 » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 5:12 PM UTC

I think it depends on the person. I'm in my early 30s and I've already seen a pretty drastic decline in how quickly I can learn things. It would be tough but not impossible.

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#6

Post by lucozade » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 5:26 PM UTC

The fundamental question you'll need to answer is why it's worth a future employer taking a punt on you?

Do you have a degree in analytical subject? Some form of engineering or hard science (I presume you don't have a CS degree).

Do you have a portfolio of work that can demonstrate your ability?

Have you contributed significantly to a reasonably large open source project? Better yet, are you a maintainer of such?

If you can answer yes to some or all of these, it will demonstrate that you have a certain intellectual ability and staying power; that you have demonstrable competence in programming and that you understand and are familiar with SDLCs and working in a development team. It will still likely take some effort in applications, you are still a risk, but you should stand a reasonable chance of landing a job.

If you can't answer yes to some of them then I'd argue struggle, as a recruiter, to see what's in it for me.

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#7

Post by codingdave » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 5:40 PM UTC

At 34, you would be almost the youngest guy on my team. SV might trend young, but that is not universally true. If you enjoy coding and want to make a move in that direction, don't let your age stop you.

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#8

Post by balazsdavid987 » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 5:49 PM UTC

34 is totally fine. Read books, not just random blogs, get a GitHub account where you upload your projects, and watch your health (sitting long periods of time is not healthy)

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#9

Post by duxup » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 6:05 PM UTC

I was in a tech (networking) for 20 years. I played with some programming here and there but nothing serious / couldn't really make a thing beyond a web site.

At 40+ I chose to change careers. Did some self study + a bootcamp and I have done it professionally for a number of years now.

Re: How old is too old to jump into software development?

#10

Post by WEngeneer » Wed, Oct 14, 2020, 6:07 PM UTC

giantg2 wrote: post #5

I think it depends on the person. I'm in my early 30s and I've already seen a pretty drastic decline in how quickly I can learn things. It would be tough but not impossible.

Can you describe your situation in more detailed way ? because I experienced similar situation and want to compare my experience with others.