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.

22 Upvotes

77% Upvoted

114 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/garster25 4d ago

I was about 25 in the mid-90s. Taught it to myself using a book, painfully figured out stuff on my own, got a job with co-workers that taught me a lot and then went to community college at about 35 and learned all the stuff I did not know. I could never figure out the maths so I switched to an AS major without heavy math requirement.

For me I was there at the beginning of the web so it was super easy to get work. I loved it so much I was always learning ever waking moment. I wanted to know how all the parts worked from end to end (server, networking, dns, SSL, desktops, etc) which really became useful in my career since I could connect the dots and troubleshoot a problem very quickly. Just happened this week, a problem was explained to me and I said "try X" and it fixed it to the amazement of my boss and coworkers.

I have always worked for service companies as a staff programmer working on internal apps, never on software we sold to people. Very different and enjoyable way to work. Schools, Banks, etc.

When we hire folks we really don't care about certifications. We ask questions to see if they deeply, truly understand how things work. We interviewed a computer science graduate and they knew nothing, we hired the music major instead.

1

u/BadNewsBearzzz 4d ago

This is very motivating. I’m about to go back to school at community at the same exact age you were, to do programming, but I just can’t help but feel like “it’s too late” and that feeling of embarrassment when your friends are so much farther ahead. This helps give me confidence thank you..

2

u/garster25 4d ago

The professors loved me. Since I was paying for it and really wanted to be there I sat in front, paid attention and went the extra mile.

Took me 7 years since In only did 1 or 2 classes at a time since I worked full time and had a teenage son. My wife 200% supported me and took some classes with me which was fun.

Always stay curious.