Ask HN: Career move and ageism?
Throwaway account here. I am a 31 year old designer working closely with developers at a small agency. Looking over their shoulders led me to want to switch careers and become an engineer. I even learned some Javascript to make an informed decision about switching roles and I absolutely love it. However, I'm aware of the ageism in the industry and am seriously concerned that I will be unable to get work after going back to school with a computer science degree at age 35. Do you feel like a career in software development has a short half-life? I've read a lot of opinions that say 35 is the end for developers and honestly, it makes me tentative. Should I throw caution to the wind and go for it or choose another career? HN is well respected among the developers I know for being the source for informed opinion and I figured this would be the place to ask for help. Thanks.
3 comments
I'd be very careful about going back to school for a serious amount of time in the software field.
Partly because I believe a lot of experience can be gained by yourself, in a much shorter amount of time. Think of it this way: 6 months of hacking code in the evening should get you pretty close to where you want to be.
Recent software college grads get hired by large companies, and frankly I think they'd wouldn't look at your resume twice. They'd pass on you in a heartbeat.
Partly because I believe a lot of experience can be gained by yourself, in a much shorter amount of time. Think of it this way: 6 months of hacking code in the evening should get you pretty close to where you want to be.
Recent software college grads get hired by large companies, and frankly I think they'd wouldn't look at your resume twice. They'd pass on you in a heartbeat.
Software seems very meritocratic. What do you think about working on an open source project and taking some client work while in school? GitHub is pretty similar to a portfolio and in design, portfolio is everything.
"35 is the end for developers"? That's ridiculous! There are many developers in their 40s and 50s (I'm 40+). This is like saying 35 is the end of physical capability: there's some truth in the assertion (the body start to decline) but it's a question of keeping yourself in shape, I've seen many 60 year old guys at the gym that can hold their own against any young guys. Same with coding.
I think the OPs concern is more with his lack of experience combined with his age. Not just that he's in his 30s, but that he's in his 30s and has almost no work experience.
I'm pretty sure there is a general consensus that young people learn faster, and this might seep into a decision in whether to hire a 20 something with no experience or 30 something with no experience.
I wouldn't worry about the age thing. In terms of pure skills, a designer who can hack one of the most valuable roles to fill for any consumer web/mobile product today.