4 ms·
I always chuckle when anyone says, "It's not too late to..." It's never too late to do anything. And it's never too late to get good at almost anything, espec
by edw519 15y ago
I always chuckle when anyone says, "It's not too late to..."
It's never too late to do anything.
And it's never too late to get good at almost anything, especially programming.
My story:
Age 21 - graduated college
Age 23 - graduated graduate school
Age 24 - got my first job programming
Age 24 - touched my first computer (that's right)
Age 27 - touched my first personal computer
Age 30 - purchased and set up my first personal computer
Age 31 - wrote my first framework
Age 32 - did my first start-up
Age 36 - did my second start-up
Age 46 - build my first web page
Age 50? - wrote my millionth line of code
Age never - got as good as I wanted to be
Age always - loved it!
A few other thoughts about OP:
It’s easy to think that it’s too late, because look at those people who spent four years in college learning to code!
Don't look at anyone else. That's your problem. Just look at the problem at hand and your approach and solution. It's just you and your computer, mano-a-mano. Pretty primitive. That's when you stop worrying about the negatives and just go ahead and build something. And that's when you know nothing else really matters.
It is difficult!
Not really. Difficulty is relative. Start out by copying a "Hello World" program and getting it to run. Then add one new capability and get that to run. Then another. Then another. Always saving your last good version so that you can go back and start each step over, just in case you really fudge things up. Hey, you're programming! It wasn't that hard, was it?
I used to think I was cursed, because every time I tried to setup something new (new development environment, tool, library, etc), something would always go wrong.
There's a difference between systems administration (which all of this is) and programming. I hate the former (which I view as a necessary evil and takes 1% of my time) and love the latter (takes the other 99%).
Do you like it? ...do you feel a rush of excitement?
Yes! Nothing else I've ever done gives quite the same feeling as experiencing something I've built working for the first time ever. Happy dance!
- simon 15y agoYup. It's only too late if you don't want to do it in the first place. While I started programming at 13, I didn't become a pastor until age 40. I suppose I could have said that I was too old to add such a different activity to my life, but I wanted to do it and dove in with enthusiasm. Was it difficult? Yes thank you. It's a small congregation and I still have to work the day job as a programmer, but coming up on five years now and we are close to doubling the original size of the congregation (was just over twenty people). It's the best job I've ever had and my dream is to eventually go full time ... just gotta get Ramen sustainable!
- deleted 15y ago[deleted]
- wysguy 15y agoI too chuckle when I hear "not too late...". Even more so when someone is in their 20's. I began programming at age 36. Shortly after, having been so inspired by how exciting it was, I enrolled in a university. I am now just a few classes short of a Computer & Information Science degree. I will be 40 when I have an actual degree in my hand. What I can contribute to others from my experience is that you will have greater determination, focus, and perseverance to learn something you really enjoy. This is especially true when you get older. I don't believe I would have done as well or learned as much if I had pursued programming in my 20's. I wasn't as focused; I had far too many distractions. My advice on getting started. Start at CS101. Learn the basics to a degree were it becomes second nature. Solve small problems, when you can do that easily solve larger ones. Don't cheat yourself; don't skim over bubble sort because it is boring, everything will teach you something. And most of all, enjoy yourself.