Age of programmers

[jay_el_em]

Hi everyone
I was wondering if age makes a difference in computer programming. I'm in furniture manufacturing and retail at the moment, but I've always enjoyed computers. Have been doing some C# for about 6 months, and having fun as I learn. My question really is: Am I too old to do some courses and become a programmer???

[Ancient Dragon]

>>Am I too old to do some courses and become a programmer???
Not unless you are over 100 years old :) I didn't start programming career until I was in my early 40s.

[efmesch]

Why stop learning at 100? One is never to old to learn something new!!

[vedro-compota]

Am I too old to do some courses and become a programmer???

If you see letters on the screen and can press keys - that you aren't very old yet)))
and.......how old are you? ))

[Ancient Dragon]

Why stop learning at 100? One is never to old to learn something new!!

Because by that age it is a challenge just to play bingo or do personal hygiene

[efmesch]

Come on Ancient Dragon--you know better than that. Some people at 30 have the problems you mention. Don't discriminate against those who have accumulated years. Many of them still function quite well. My mother (almost 98) doesn't program, but she handles the computer for writing and communication quite well. I'm sure that if she were interested in programming she would handle it as well as you, [maybe--no insults intended]. She's all with it, doesn't waste her time on bingo and lives and manages her house all on her own.

[mlmoran]

If you enjoy it, I would go for it! I would also talk to people you may know that are programmers to get a realistic picture of what life as a programmer is like, to see if you'd enjoy those aspects of programming. (Every company is different, don't let I person turn you off with their experiences).

I started programming at 12, professionally at 18, and many people questioned whether I was "too young" to be a programmer - but 26 years later I'm still learning new languages and programming away.

[br_astronut]

I try continuous learning myself in order to keep myself up to date with new technologies and I have fun with it at the same time. I don't think I will ever want to stop learning since it keeps me feeling good about myself. I suggest you keep leaning and enjoy every minute of it.

[jay_el_em]

I am now 37, would two years be a good goal for me to work towards at being a professional programmer. Would like it to be earlier, but if you're working fulltime, and taking care of a 4 month old baby, time is not always your own. Also, would doing a Microsoft certification be the right way to get a foot in the door? Am really interrested in C#.

[techieinvents]

Information is always wealth.... Dont consider age is a problem....

Aged people only created a history....

[thamsg]

hi athlets

age (matter of numeric value)

interest + experience(a matter of knowledge)

[Chronwin]

As long as you are willing to drink lots of coffee and sit in a dark room in silence for many hours at a clip... you can program :)

[MGD]

I sure hope you're not too old to start programming.... I'm 48 and I just got an Associates degree a year ago last spring..... I'm a carpenter by trade, and am having a hard time finding a transitional opening or position... I didn't grow up with computers either...so if I can do it.....any body can.......

[jeffballard]

age is doesnt matter for a good programmer .......

[proyAshleyInd]

Even at 63 I'm still having fun and will continue for some years. Been at it for over 35 years. Have fun!!

[cguan_77]

learning is a non-stop process..if you love to learn new things and loving it..don't stop..
Learning is fun.

[Ancient Dragon]

Even at 63 I'm still having fun and will continue for some years. Been at it for over 35 years. Have fun!!

That's exactly the reason I'm so active here :)

[whitewidow31]

I am now 37, would two years be a good goal for me to work towards at being a professional programmer. Would like it to be earlier, but if you're working fulltime, and taking care of a 4 month old baby, time is not always your own. Also, would doing a Microsoft certification be the right way to get a foot in the door? Am really interrested in C#.

Im 36, i have only just started at c++ 2 weeks ago. I work shift work in a metalizing film company, sometimes 12hrs per day and also have house to run. I do not get much time to study, it staken me 2 weeks to get as far as diplaying Hello World lol. I read books during my tea breaks at work and may be catch hour or 2 everyday on the computer. I to have been thinking the same question, im i to old? What makes it harder for me i belive is my maths has become very rusty. I done a A+ and N+ course on computers so i do know how to get my way round computers very well and can program in dos but have always wanted to take things further and have been wondering if it is actuly worth it????

[Ancient Dragon]

>>im i to old
No -- I didn't start until I was in my early 40s.

Your situation is a tough one because you don't have a lot of spare time on your hands. Ideally, you might take a couple weeks vacation so that you can spend a lot of time learning how to program. But if you have small children that may even be difficult.

Don't worry about the math just yet because entry level programming doesn't normally require much. As long as you are familiar with basic algebra (add, subtract, multiply and divide) you should be just fine.

[KushMishra]

Hi jay_el_em there are a lot of suggestions given to you by many experts here and in my opinion if you enjoy something, its better to continue enjoying that thing no matter whatever the thing is.
As long as you enjoy the work you're doing, you will surely make something good out of it.

Hope that helps.
Thanks.

[horrerbaba]

it good and informatic thread.

[AndreRet]

Age does not count, but the skill that you apply to your applications. Remember that Bill gates was virtually a minor when he developed windows...;)

[Ancient Dragon]

Remember that Bill gates was virtually a minor when he developed windows...;)

Bill Gates, born in 1955, was about 30 when the first version of Windows was released in 1985.

[AndreRet]

Sorry, rephrase, he started as a young boy (13) on Basic, build it into a huge company and so on... by 30.;)

At 13 he enrolled in the Lakeside School, an exclusive preparatory school.[12] When he was in the eighth grade, the Mothers Club at the school used proceeds from Lakeside School's rummage sale to buy an ASR-33 teletype terminal and a block of computer time on a General Electric (GE) computer for the school's students.[13] Gates took an interest in programming the GE system in BASIC and was excused from math classes to pursue his interest. He wrote his first computer program on this machine: an implementation of tic-tac-toe that allowed users to play games against the computer. Gates was fascinated by the machine and how it would always execute software code perfectly. When he reflected back on that moment, he commented on it and said, "There was just something neat about the machine."[14] After the Mothers Club donation was exhausted, he and other students sought time on systems including DEC PDP minicomputers. One of these systems was a PDP-10 belonging to Computer Center Corporation (CCC), which banned four Lakeside students—Gates, Paul Allen, Ric Weiland, and Kent Evans—for the summer after it caught them exploiting bugs in the operating system to obtain free computer time.[15]
At the end of the ban, the four students offered to find bugs in CCC's software in exchange for computer time. Rather than use the system via teletype, Gates went to CCC's offices and studied source code for various programs that ran on the system, including programs in FORTRAN, LISP, and machine language. The arrangement with CCC continued until 1970, when the company went out of business. The following year, Information Sciences, Inc. hired the four Lakeside students to write a payroll program in COBOL, providing them computer time and royalties. After his administrators became aware of his programming abilities, Gates wrote the school's computer program to schedule students in classes. He modified the code so that he was placed in classes with mostly female students. He later stated that "it was hard to tear myself away from a machine at which I could so unambiguously demonstrate success."[14] At age 17, Gates formed a venture with Allen, called Traf-O-Data, to make traffic counters based on the Intel 8008 processor.[16] In early 1973, Bill Gates served as a congressional page in the U.S. House of Representatives.[17]

[Ancient Dragon]

That was quite an accomplishment for a 13 year-old in 1968.

[AndreRet]

Thats for sure. I don't know where we went wrong. Comes to show, age does not matter when you put your mind to it, have an interest in what you do and are prepared to learn.:)

[JamieLynnSEO]

From my experience, age isn't a big factor in programming. I've been programming since the early age of 13. Self taught, I've gotten jobs without a degree in both programming AND web design. It's all about skill. If you're a good programmer, and you can show proof of work, you'll get a job. Just make sure to stay one step ahead.