Slashdot Mirror
How Old is Too Old?
NewtonEatPalm! asks: "I started college back when I was too young to carefully weigh options about my future. I entered a prominent art school at age 17, coasted through, and was spit out at age 22 with a film degree that I don't really want nor do I feel qualified to use as the basis for a career. Three years on, I'm still working at my mundane college job, though one thing has never changed in all this time- my love of and devotion to technology, keeping up with hardware news and the intricacies of powerful software through daily reading of sites like Slashdot and lots of home-brew system building and amateur web development. I've decided that I'd like to pursue a second degree in Software Engineering at one of the major Cal State U's, but that would place me in the tech job market at nearly 30. My question is, how old is too old? Are severe changes in career direction in this sector commonplace/successful? Or have I truly already let my best chance for entry pass me by?"
If your radical ideas happened to be annealed in post-hoc math, you may just carve out a niche for yourself; feral engineers are too goddamn down-to-earth for my taste, anyway.
Carpe Momento
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
Everybody's life and goals are unique. You shouldn't try to judge your progress based on what you think others are doing and have accomplished. Sometimes that can be useful. But you should just ask yourself one question. What do YOU want to do with your life and what do you think you need to do to accomplish that.
Some people "start" their life at 15 and burn out when they are 30, some start at 30 and continue on until they die. Everyone is different.
Ok now that I got that out of the way...
I finished my EE degree and entered the engineering workforce at 28. If anything I found my age may have helped me. Most of the people you end up working with won't know when you finished your degree, so they end up looking at you as someone who is probably more experienced. Throw in the fact that in a technology job you have to stay current and not everyone does. Coming fresh from university you'll most likely be current.
Age doesn't matter it's your skills and drive, boy. (And stop asking questions that make me feel old)
Dead.
You should however be certain of where you are going. Building PCs and doing light web development are not what most software engineers do in their day jobs. Teach yourself Java or Python or something and try your hand at some more substantial software development. And that is good practice - in most software engineering classes, the focus of the class is more about basic concepts and you are expected to teach yourself whatever you need of the language du jour to implement projects.
Some see the vessel as half full; others see it as half-empty; We pour it out on the floor and laugh
You're too old to do it when you personally cannot do it.
A friend of mine is in his early 50's, and he recently landed his first "real" (paid) linux system administration job. Prior to this he had worked in construction his entire life. If he can do it at fifty-plus, you can do it at thirty. If you can't, there's a reason for it other than age.
People generally have more power than they think they do, and are limited not by what they can do, but by what they allow themselves to accomplish. So, be bold! Thrust your trepidations aside and throw yourself in the direction you want to go. You may surprise yourself.
-- TTK
Look at it this way: how old will you be in 4 years if you don't do this? What will you be doing then? (nb. the answer better not be "posting another 'Ask Slashdot'... ;-) )
Too many people use the excuse that they will be 'x' years old when they get out of the schooling they need to pursue the job they really want instead of the fry-slinging they are presently doing. Do yourself a favour: get the buy-in of the significant people in your life, take a deep breath, and pay the first year tuition all at once. Then instead of having an excuse not to go to school, you will have an excuse not to skip/stop.
CPD.
In ten years, you'll be 40. When you look back, what you did for a living may not be as big a deal as you think. Your relationship(s) may be a bigger solace.
If your parents are still living, see them at least once a year for the next 10 years.
After 28, you can't rely on your metabolism to keep you in shape. If you don't already have one, pick a physical activity you won't get bored with, preferably something not too dangerous.
Do you play any instruments? If you start practicing now, you should be able to play by the time you're 40, and even better by the time you're 50.
Sometimes the best job is one that lots of people aren't after. Yes there are lots of jobs for coders, but there is lots of supply too.
If you don't keep a journal, start. Some things in life are cyclic, and you won't notice them unless you can review what happened in past years.
I always remember a careers evening I went to with my father 16 years ago. The careers adviser stood at the front of a large hall and asked all the parents "How many of you are still doing the same job that you did when you left school?". Out of 200 parents only a small handful of them raised their hands.
I left school at 16, took an engineering apprenticeship and slaved away at that for another 8 years. When redundancy called at the age of 25 I decided a change was needed. Many people told me that my 4-year apprenticeship would be wasted if I left the industry; I ignored them.
I too have always been interested in computer and suchlike. I had some HTML knowledge under my belt. I also had some knowledge of the core MS Office applications. An office life for me this time!
Once in a low-skilled role I learnt some Javascript to complement my HTML. I spoke to people and they said "learn how to store and retrieve data from databases and you're laughing" so I did. My manager learned of my new skills and asked me to build a few simple business applications. "What about VBA?" he said. "No" I said. He then sent me on some courses to learn that.
These days I write small browser based applications that help the business no end, crappy Excel spreadsheets, crappy Access databases - someone's got to do it. If I had the motivation to learn more then I could progress more.
I am 32 and I have another 38 years left of my working life.
This post contains benzene, nitrosamines, formaldehyde and hydrogen cyanide.
It really seems that this guy has mis-interpreted the reasons why interviewers dropped him. As a hiring manager, I look for people who can objectively look at situations and make knowledgable and logical decisions. There is no problem with asking questions and looking at the fine print, as long as it is relavent. However, if you are looking for all the in-and-outs of how an employer can screw you and asking your questions from this viewpoint, it comes across quite clearly and an intelligent hiring manager will know that you will be someone who will be very difficult to with as you lack any ability to have any trust for management in a business environment.
It is never in an employers best interest to screw over its employees. If an employer does think this, his company will not suceed as he will just drive away his best employees. On the same token, each employee does have some responsibility to watch out for his own interests, demand just compensation and deliver value back to the company to justify any raises in compensation.
As to the original poster questions, it is never too late to attempt a career change, especially if it is something that you are really interested in. Just keep in mind that you will be starting at the pay scale that someone in their early twenties would be getting. Is your life style going to accomodate that?