Hey folks! Sloan, DEV Moderator and mascot. I'm back with another question submitted by a DEV community member. 🦥
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Today's question is:
I'm 54 years old and considering getting into software development as a career. I really like the flexibility of being able to work from home and set my own scheduled. In the past, I've experimented some with Python, but honestly don't have much experience. I know I have more work to do, but am I a lost cause or is it possible for someone like me to break into tech? Any advice is welcome!
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Top comments (6)
Is it breaking into tech or software development specifically? It seems like your goal is primarily around having a job with a flexible schedule. There are a plethora of options and likely more roles that don't require 'hard' skills if you are open to finding a role in tech in general. I personally broke into tech first, and then pursued software development via a bootcamp. After graduation, I didn't go into a dev role but into a product manager role instead. And well, I actually never ended up with a dev role and still work in tech with the flexibility of working from home and setting my own schedule :)
Alls I can say is, I'm in the same boat, and I'm giving it a shot. Over the past year or so I've gained some skills, made a portfolio, and now I'm applying for jobs. It's still early days, so I can't say whether this is leading anywhere yet or not. Fingers crossed!
Use the experiences you have gained throughout the 54 years and use that as your strength when applying/interviewing.
Or you never know till you try.
What do I know...I'm changing careers close to the halfway point in life.
My older brother was in his 40s when he first started coding. He got up to speed really quickly, and I'm certain he could have done the same thing in his 50s.
I think it is possible to break into tech in any age by managing expectations.
If the main point is work flexibility, I have some ideas:
It is also possible to apply for engineering jobs, just keep in mind you'll be competing with younger people.
I'm in a similar situation, age 42 working in healthcare but considering a pivot of career into tech.
I've done bits of HTML, VB, Python etc over the years (as in dabbled here and there for various projects as I've always been interested and gravitated to tech-focussed projects at work.)
I've now enrolled on a full stack engineer career track course via Codecademy so I can study in my spare time. It may come to nothing or I may be able to make the jump, only time will tell I guess. The big selling point in interviews will be the soft skills I can bring to a role - working in teams, managing teams, project management, problem solving skills etc and its those I will likely focus on during an interview.
The tech field is constantly changing so I get the impression everyone is constantly learning as new frameworks come out or new technologies come along. (Spare a thought for iOS developers who get the rug pulled from under them every year when Apple release the next version of the OS and change all the underlying architecture!!) so coming in "late" to the tech party may not be as much of a disadvantage as we think (or that's what I'm telling myself!!)