I am 40 years old. Is it too late to start a career in software development?

I just turned 48. I drive a truck for a living. The thing is, time will pass regardless of your activities, so if you can watch a year go by or use that year to learn web development, why not have something to show for it?
Best of luck!

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Just turned 74 and completed Front End Certification. Never too old. Do not think I will be looking for a job but there are other ways to help the community. If I was an employer working on a long term project, I would settle for a more mature person who would, more likely, stick around to see the project through.

Edit: I hope itā€™s OK to add a link to my little story

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Sorry but at 40 years old you are too old.
Thanks God I am only 39 years and 362 days old!!! (true case)

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Hello!

43 here and making the switch. I left Web Design about 10 years ago to pursue other interests. However, Iā€™m finding that my current job has pretty much plateaued, thereā€™s no ā€œupā€ to work toward, and what Iā€™m doing now is what Iā€™ll be doing in 5, or even 10 years, with maybe a slightly larger paycheck. To see my future there, I need only look across the room at people whoā€™ve been there for almost 20 years, doing the same thing they did when they started, with nowhere to go. Thatā€™s not the future I want, nor see myself in.

I realize Iā€™ve out-grown my current job, and am capable of much more than Iā€™m doing right now. Iā€™ve been thinking about it for a while, but it struck me recently that Iā€™m 40-something, am not getting any younger, and need to make it happen ā€œnowā€, rather than burning even more time thinking about it. So here I am.

Iā€™ve decided to return to the Web world, but as a Front-End developer this time, rather than Design.

Iā€™ve considered the ā€œageismā€ angle, as well. But at the same time, I realized that my work should speak for me, not my age. Also, as others have noted, with age comes experience, wisdom and perspective that a younger, more reckless and ā€œenergeticā€ me wouldnā€™t have had. Iā€™m more grounded and focused now than I was when I was younger, and I feel that can be a huge benefit to a company.

And frankly, a company that wouldnā€™t hire me based on my age, and not my demonstrable knowledge/skills is probably not the kind Iā€™d want to work for anyway.

So for me, itā€™s a non-issue. What nibbles at my thoughts is, while I know itā€™s a ways off, yet, ā€œwhen will I know Iā€™m ready to start looking for work and can realistically expect to be hired?ā€

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You are never too old to code, and it is never to late to learn how to code!

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Iā€™m 39 today, am in early stages of FCC. My plan is to do a few projects for friends, work through the syllabus and have a job in webdev by the time Iā€™m 40!

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Iā€™m almost 38. My background is Telecom. I really would like to start a career in software development too. I also have that sensation thatā€™s too late. Itā€™s nice to know there are so many people in the same situation :slight_smile:

I just started a LinkedIn group called, ā€œItā€™s Never Too Late for Code.ā€ Its focus is older, um more mature developers.

Hereā€™s the link:
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12028103

I just started the group a few hours ago.

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Thanks! I just submitted a request to join the group.

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Ok, sorry, but Iā€™m not so familiar with LinkedInā€“whatā€™s the expected benefit of the group?

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It is never to late when you do something you likeā€¦ So code onā€¦ cheers Mchoeti

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I am 52 :slight_smile:

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jemagee,

I am in the same boat. I would enjoy chatting sometime. I am 48 now. I have been coding on and off since 14, have a PhD in computational chemistry, but canā€™t really build a big project on my own. I am doing FCC mostly in the summer so I can learn to tackle bigger challenges. I have a job, but we all need a plan B just in case.

Donna

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itā€™s never too late to change career to do what you love or what you are passionate about.

  1. Bill Barnett enrolled in the University to study Computer Science at the age of 40.
  2. Pavol Almasi was about to obtain his degree in computer programming at the age of 40.
  3. Derek Langton, a former state trooper, decided to become an IOS developer at 42.
  4. Patricia Ehrhardtā€™s become a software developer after 40
  5. Sara Powell - too
  6. Tyson Daugherty - another one
  7. Laurie Alaoui joined a web development boot camp as a student at 57 (!).

https://belitsoft.com/php-development-services/its-not-too-late-become-software-developer-after-age-35-40-or-50-top-10-true-great-success-stories

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LinkedIn is basically a website where you can create a profile, network with other professionals, follow companies, and sometimes even view job postings. Itā€™s a tiny bit like facebook, only a bit, no, a lot more professional. Here in the US, one of the first things an employer will do after reviewing your resume is to look at your LinkedIn profile.

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Another 40-year old, here. I had serious doubts about starting this so late in life, too. Especially when looking around at all the youngins with long careers ahead of them. But, like others have stated: itā€™s now or never. If this is something you want to do, go for it! You may find, like I did, that you love it and kick yourself for not doing this sooner.

Please donā€™t let your age hold you back and happy coding!

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Never too late! I am 37 and starting just nowā€¦ computers (technology in general) and I never get along, but I am giving this a try.

Iā€™m old enough to be your father. Just started software development about 6 years ago. I get a lot of looks at my gray hair but if you do your diligence in learning how to code, people will learn to respect you - even the 20-year old youngsters.

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Hi,

You are right!,

I work in digital marketing and for now far from me the idea of working as a software engineer ( I started a bit less than a month ago.)

However, I know that in my next position the next thing Iā€™m probably going to do is write scripts/apps to make my life easier, because god knows how tedious data gathering/formatting raw data can be.

Just to give you an idea, when I started my career I spent half a day filling up a bloody report following a very unpractical design my manager wanted me to fill.
Now, with the little bit of Python/ JavaScript I know, I am sure that I could put together a script that would handle all the raw data and put the right data at the right place, with the right formulasā€¦It could have saved me literally days before.

Bottom line: even if it is as a support, coding can be a huge help to become a top performer/better performer at your job

Iā€™m 44 and learning to code!! No, not too late at all!! You can do it!!