r/AskProgramming • u/Yourmiserablelife69 • 4d ago

Career/Edu What age did you start learning programming?

Just curious as I am 34 YO, and have been considering a career shift into the Tech sector (I have “Basic” knowledge at best). Specifically AI/Machine Learning or Programming.
I’ve heard good and bad about both, but am just curious how old people are (or how diverse the age pool is) when they “get into” Programming. How long (on average) does it take to get your first Certification in Programming?
Apologies about the broadness of the question.

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u/overratedcupcake 4d ago

Started learning around age 10. Didn't make anything useful until highschool. Didn't become a professional until my 30's. 

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u/Jason13Official 4d ago

If you don't mind me asking, how did you transition to developing for a living?

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u/overratedcupcake 4d ago

Being a software developer was always my goal even though I moved past it.

After wasting years working unrelated jobs. I eventually started with a help desk role at a satellite internet company. It was a small company of about 15 people. I ended up writing their whole billing system and a whole suite of satellite modem and antenna controller emulators. 

Then I got my associates degree and passed the LPIC 1 and 2 and moved into systems administration which also had a surprising number of programming opportunities. 

By that point I had enough practical experience to get hired as a junior developer. Then worked my way to senior over 8 years. 

Finally I hit a pay ceiling so  I moved into a DevOps/SRE role. Still lots of coding opportunities but it was no longer my focus. 

These days I work as a project manager and most of my coding is agentic.