Recently, I have been increasingly coming across questions on various programming forums and Facebook groups about whether you can become a programmer after the age of 30, or even later. I have even received a few such questions in my email box from blog readers. More and more people are thinking about changing careers and becoming programmers. If we are already in our 30s and have just made this decision, is it too late to become a programmer? Does such a decision have to be made right after high school? Or maybe even earlier? In this article, I will try to present my opinion on this subject.
Am I too old to become a programmer?
I am surprised that many people who answer these questions believe that people over 30 have no chance of changing their profession and learning programming from scratch. What is the reason for this? Probably because programming is not very easy and you have to spend some time learning and practicing. It is true that you have to spend some time learning, but it is a normal job, like any other, so I do not agree that you cannot change your profession to become a programmer after 30. What is more, I will say that you can definitely start learning programming at the age of 30, as well as 40. Of course, changing your profession later has a few disadvantages, but it is certainly not impossible.
Are only younger people programmers?
Many people outside the industry believe that programmers are only young people who have just finished college and have learned programming from an early age. If things continue like this, it may soon turn out that a person who did not program in kindergarten may no longer have a chance to become a programmer 🙂 In reality, it does not look like that at all, there are indeed many young people, but there are also many older programmers. A programmer does not end his career after 30 🙂 Maybe the average age of programmers in relation to other professions will not be too high, but over time it will increase.
The biggest challenge when changing professions to become a programmer
The biggest challenge for a person who wants to change professions, to become a programmer, will be finding time to study. This is what can be difficult for such people, because first of all, such a person usually has another job and a family, to which a lot of time must be devoted, so they have many other responsibilities. Therefore, there are a maximum of a few hours a day left for studying, but this may be enough. It is important to systematically devote a few hours a week to studying. Another disadvantage of such a late change of profession may be the fact that after finding a new job you will be a junior, and it may turn out that people younger than you will have higher positions, which may not be comfortable for some people, although I don't see anything wrong with it.
Use your strengths
The truth is that a person who already has a lot of experience in another profession can also use this experience in their work as a programmer. Remember that a programmer writes applications primarily for other people, for different fields, so knowledge of a given field can make things much easier for you. If you were an accountant before, for example, and now you will be writing applications dedicated to accountants, it will certainly be much easier for you. Similarly with other industries, knowledge of the industry for which you will be creating software will always bring you a lot of value. It will certainly then be easier for you to understand their problems, you will know how given applications should work, it will simply be easier for you to find your way around.
Is it worth changing your profession?
I know a lot of people who decided to change their profession and become programmers only after turning 30. Most of these people are still programming today and are doing well. So, if you are interested in programming, I recommend this path to you. It is definitely worth trying.
What is the best approach to changing your profession to become a programmer?
First of all, you need to choose the language you want to program in, here I recommend you start with C# on the .NET platform. Then you simply need to start learning, but not just theory, but above all you need to base on practice, you need to program a lot. I realize that there are some materials that you need to master. However, I have good news for people like you, I prepared an online video training some time ago - 🔥 Become a .NET Programmer, which consists of 15 modules and will guide you through the entire process of learning programming from scratch from your first job as a junior .NET programmer. Of course, the training also requires a lot of work from you, just watching these materials is not enough. Most people who go through the training are people who have not had contact with the C# language before and I am impressed by how well they cope with the materials. The training is not currently available, but in a few weeks when we finish working with the previous group, there will probably be an opportunity to join again. All you need to do is join the waiting list on the Become a .NET Developer website and you will be the first to be informed when the next edition starts.
SUMMARY:
If you are in your 30s or even 40s and want to become a programmer, then of course nothing stands in your way. You just need to start developing in this direction. This will require some systematic learning in your free time, but it is definitely not too late. If you have any questions, please contact me by e-mail or leave a message in the comments 😉
