Too old to start an IT career (C# programming or whatever) at age 50?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=930128

by fixerupper • 17 years ago

3 8 17 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I'd really like to know if it's too late to start in the IT field and make good of it. I want to eventually become a consultant for the rest of my life of past age 75. Am I going to be in a tough field to get into if I get a graduate degree in computer science or learn for certifications in a graduate school called SetFocus?

Ye-Ha• 17 years ago

IT yes, programmer no. Look at .net, PHP, etc.

ksvs• 17 years ago

Setfocus looks pretty dubious: http://seeker.dice.com/olc/thread.jspa?threadID=12196&ts...

If you start searching for "setfocus" in Google, the top suggestion for the next word is "scam."

elblanco2• 17 years ago

Depending on your background...maybe.

In my experience, people with strong mathematics, EE, CE or physics backgrounds can become ok programmers in support of their work in that field if they end up learning that skillset later in life. But that's because they've already trained their minds at a younger age to think along those kinds of lines so those neural pathways are already set.

Outside of maybe those few areas (and perhaps very few related ones), I'd say it'll be a struggle. A 20 year old will most likely code faster and more prolific. And if his code stinks, he'll tear it down and rewrite it again, better and from an orthogonal direction, while you are still plugging away getting your first project just setup.

Even experienced developers find that they really have to step aside at some point and teach, or manage. It's just a profession that favors the malleability of the young mind and it seems to have a very high burnout rate past somewhere around 40 -- meaning I see maybe 1% of developers still actively in a development role after that age, they've either entirely left the profession, or moved into a supervisory/mgmt role.

Like anything, it's a language, and the young always learn that kind of thing faster, and internalize it better (grok) than their elders.

That being said, I have seen a fair number of old-timers doing network security, and other kinds of IT "behind the scenes" infrastructure kind of jobs. Their age give them some automatic authority as they blend in with the other greybeards of those professions. One guy I knew went from running a restaurant to doing network mgmt at about 55. He's become reasonable successful in those jobs. But one thing he always laments is the impatience of the faster, younger colleagues that have to deal with him -- he invariably tries to find solo positions in small companies.

ideamonk• 17 years ago

Whereas in Open Source world I find people active even in their 50s :)

elblanco2• 17 years ago

This is probably true. Most likely comes from the Unix Greybeards presiding over the whole thing, like the Greek Titans before the dominion of the Gods.

projectileboy• 17 years ago

Depends. If you actually enjoy computer programming, maybe. If it's just a way to make a living, then you're going to get exhausted having to constantly learn new technologies.

Go to university if you think that's the best route for you. I'd avoid certification factories. But your best route is actually to just start writing programs. Try getting involved with a open source project.

fixerupper2• 17 years ago

I actually code and learn faster now than most people do in the 20s.

Too old to start an IT career (C# programming or whatever) at age 50?

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