>If I want to do software development is it plausible to teach myself in 4 years? Am I hirable at 45? As always, it depends. Assuming retire means you’re goin

>If I want to do software development is it plausible to teach myself in 4 years? Am I hirable at 45? As always, it depends. Assuming retire means you’re going to get some kind of pension, you could definitely be in a nice position to take contract jobs and let the pension smooth out any income fluctuations. Also if you can start trying to pick up contract work on the side now, you’d be a very good position in 4 years. If you want to find a full time, entry level job, that’s doable as well assuming the economy is doing relatively ok in 4 years. You could also try to find a programming job where your existing experience would be relevant so you're not starting out at the bottom. Maybe a programming job with a company that makes forensic software or just a company that works with law enforcement in general. Domain expertise is the big differentiator once you have a few years of programming experience.