Too old to start programming

42 replies
Hey everyone, I have a question to all the programmers. I'm 24 yr old but am wondering if I'm too old to start learning computer programming?
#programming #start
  • Profile picture of the author phpbbxpert
    I hope not
    I started quite a bit later than that.

    It all depends how much time you want to put into learning. (each day)
    Also, with programming, learning never ends, there are always, changes, better ways, new technology, etc...

    So the learning never stops.
    But I guess it wont in anything if you want to strive to do the best.
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    • Profile picture of the author Joewriter
      Originally Posted by phpbbxpert View Post

      I hope not
      I started quite a bit later than that.

      It all depends how much time you want to put into learning. (each day)
      Also, with programming, learning never ends, there are always, changes, better ways, new technology, etc...

      So the learning never stops.
      But I guess it wont in anything if you want to strive to do the best.
      It is very inspiring for me Thank you
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  • Profile picture of the author Devid Farah
    Originally Posted by Thomas Michal View Post


    Hey everyone, I have a question to all the programmers. I'm 24 yr old but am wondering if I'm too old to start learning computer programming?
    Hi Thomas,

    no,i think you are not old,you just need to take action,in my opinion.

    Devid
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  • Profile picture of the author Net66
    24 - you're still a youngster! Go for it!

    Andy
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  • Profile picture of the author ReikiGirl
    You could be 50 and not be too old to learn to work at home! =)
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  • Profile picture of the author TrafficMystic
    24 lol.. I started software development at 26...

    plenty of time..
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    • Profile picture of the author mojojuju
      Yes, I'm afraid you're too old. Sorry.
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      :)

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    • Profile picture of the author kaido
      Originally Posted by TrafficMystic View Post

      24 lol.. I started software development at 26...

      plenty of time..
      Heh same here.
      Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author neiljw
    Well, you don't really learn to program - you either have it or you don't. The right approach and analytical mind to problem solving, that is. If you have it, what you do need to learn is how to write code in a suitable form for the application. It's never too late for that and it's a process that never really stops.
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  • Profile picture of the author ARS
    You're only 24 that's still young..
    You shouldn't let age stop you.

    There are people like double your age that do programming, so I think you've got time :-)
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    • Profile picture of the author plainwords
      I was 47 when I started to learn HTML, CSS and PHP. I'm now pretty good at it so my age didn't seem to be a problem :-)

      Funnily enough, I remember when I was around 24, I was talking to an older guy saying I hated what I was doing and wanted to study for a new career. He said, "you're too old." So I spent over 20 years in a career I never really enjoyed.

      If you want to learn programming, just get on with it!
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  • Profile picture of the author seasoned
    24 years? Gee, I am TWICE your age, and STILL learning! It is funny how something can seem hard and eventually it seems easy. If you can effectively break something down into its simplest steps, and WANT to learn it, you can.

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author StudioArtha
      Thomas,

      Having been in programming and development since around 1984 (just after the dinosaurs), I can emphatically tell you that you are NOT too old. In fact, one of the wonderful aspects of being a programmer is that every several years you have to learn it all over again!

      But seriously, forget age. If you get a thrill when faced with a perplexing problem, and can not let it rest till you have figured out a way around it, you would be well suited to coding.

      Also, (I'll get slammed for saying this) very little of what a good programmer does is original work. Instead, you just find out how someone else has done some part of it and then weave it into your tapestry of code. Poetry in 1's and 0's!

      Get on it man!
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  • Profile picture of the author Tim Franklin
    Yes, agreed, you are not too old, I started when I was just a kid, but things have changed, you can learn more these days, because there is just so much out there, to learn, for example, in 1995 I installed my first CGI script and got a 500 error, back then you had to have all your code commented correctly, else it would not run.

    So after fooling around with it for about two hours, trying all kind of things, looking at the code, for errors, typos, ect, I finally found one little thing that was out of whack and when I refreshed the page, it was like the scene from the Tom Hanks movie,

    I have made fire, I have made Fire,
    Not saying that if you dont get that excited about programming, and developing that your not cut out for it, but it helps to have that kind of excitement, when your debugging a script that keeps exiting on an error, and you find a termination error, and you put that ; in there and Bam it runs, there is nothing like that feeling of kicking but in that way.

    So, really have a look around find something you really like, one of the things that I really enjoy is fourth generation programming and languages,

    If your really interested in learning to do some really interesting stuff Pm me and I would be happy to show you a few sites that you might find interesting.
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  • Profile picture of the author rulez05
    no your still young I'm only 21 and i never learn it from school cuz educational system in our country really sucks so I use And spend my time hours days weeks and months and I only learn this on my own and thanks for google << his the one who thought me how to program .....

    I hope this help =)
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  • Profile picture of the author Silke
    You are never to old to learn programmimgand by the way 24 is still young, you have your whole life ahead. Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author Ken Durham
    you have time to become a doctor if you want to....

    I started programming nearly 20 years ago at the age of 30, self taught at that. It's easier than you think.
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    yes, I am....

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  • Profile picture of the author Evan-M
    Originally Posted by Thomas Michal View Post

    Hey everyone, I have a question to all the programmers. I'm 24 yr old but am wondering if I'm too old to start learning computer programming?

    a lot of programmers were over 24 when there was no programing to be heard of. really go back 20 years and no one was doing this. so any programmer you meet over 44 learned after they were 24
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    • Profile picture of the author stormyweather
      Originally Posted by Evan-M View Post

      really go back 20 years and no one was doing this. so any programmer you meet over 44 learned after they were 24
      I don't suppose you were being literal, but just for the record, thousands of people have been programming since the 1950s in languages like Fortran.
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      • Profile picture of the author Evan-M
        Originally Posted by stormyweather View Post

        I don't suppose you were being literal, but just for the record, thousands of people have been programming since the 1950s in languages like Fortran.
        I was speaking more to languages that directly pertain to internet marketing.....html/css/php/asp/c etc etc etc
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  • Profile picture of the author ussher
    Only thing is, once you start, you will _never_ finish.

    You can never get to the point where you can say "Ok, I know programming now."

    There is always more to learn.
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  • Profile picture of the author wayfarer
    I started to learn programming when I was 13-14 years old, but didn't start studying it again seriously until I was in my late 20's. The earlier you start the better chances you have of understanding, but the older you are the more disciplined you tend to be, so you have a better opportunity to learn to do things the right way.

    Of course, I was totally self taught, so I don't know how it is for you. At first I learned only because it was fun. Later it was still fun, but I also learned out of necessity because I had to earn a living. I learned a lot more out of necessity, but fun projects I do in my spare time still teach me things I probably never would have learned without my own initiative.

    If you're serious about learning programming, realize you should learn several languages, but figure out what you are good at and specialize in that!
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  • Profile picture of the author Adeptris
    I to am self taught and over 55, I have never use a manual just hands on and examples, from an early age I wanted to know how things worked, how things were constructed.

    It is the same with code, be it a book or code sample, if you just copy what is presented then you may get by, and could end up on a support desk reading the WIKI or FAQ's for answers.

    If you look at the code, strip it into small bits, try to understand each part and what it does, get a good idea of how it works, think how else you might do it better, then you might make it as a programmer.

    I went from engineering (12 years recession), into construction (15 years recession), programmer 15 years (7 years freelance accounting software) and ask "what recession?"

    There are lots of other languages so check out the job markets look at what is moving rather than what was moving, think in a 10 to 15 year plan, think in new technology.

    You can learn at what pace you want, but a big part is still how you think and how your brain works.

    Good Luck!

    David
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  • Profile picture of the author hhunt
    Programming is not about age, but passion. You need to have the love and passion for it to succeed just like everything else. Don't let anyone tell you you are old. Remember, you are as old as you feel inside.

    Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author sidharthbanyal
    Better late then never.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jake Gray
    Too old?

    Depending on which programming language and for what, you
    could easily learn an effective language that will make you tons
    of money in the job market.

    Hint: Java
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  • Profile picture of the author William Prawira
    Originally Posted by Thomas Michal View Post

    Hey everyone, I have a question to all the programmers. I'm 24 yr old but am wondering if I'm too old to start learning computer programming?
    There is no such thing as "too old" when it's about learning. Especially when you are talking about computer programming. Computer programming is continuously changing as time goes by, which means, even if you learn it 5 years ago, you still have to update your skill and learn the new programming languages that pops up nowadays.

    Here's a little example. Years back, people don't learn about wordpress as they do now. It's because wordpress wasn't there yet.

    Hope this helps
    William
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    Thanks,

    William Prawira

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    • Profile picture of the author Rovi
      I wondered if your question was a joke when I saw it.

      I started to learn programming in my 40s cause I needed some functionality on my web site and couldn't afford to pay anyone else to do it.

      Since then I have made a good chunk of my living with the new skills I learned. And of course, the pace of change keeps accelerating - you will need to learn new skills your whole life to be most valuable in workforce or as freelancer/entrepreneur.

      BTW - Great advice I saw was in someone's forum sig: "Don't learn php, learn logic" Took me a while to understand significance, but once you look at problems with strict logic you can code most efficiently in any language.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zuljit
    Programming don't bound any one by age. There is no restrictions of age about programming.
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    • Profile picture of the author saltydroidscousin
      Firstly Great Thread!

      So does anyone here want to share how they learned programming. Is there forums, online tutorials, websites we should be following??:confused:
      I already know HTML/ CSS
      I need to learn Php amoung other programs

      I have a script with CakePHP 1.2 but no clue how to edit it!
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      • Profile picture of the author Rovi
        Originally Posted by saltydroidscousin View Post

        Firstly Great Thread!

        So does anyone here want to share how they learned programming. Is there forums, online tutorials, websites we should be following??:confused:
        I already know HTML/ CSS
        I need to learn Php amoung other programs

        I have a script with CakePHP 1.2 but no clue how to edit it!
        I bought a few books to get started and looked for free scripts online that I could pull apart to see how they were built, and how to replicate them to do what I needed to do. Now I have a shelf full of well thumbed php textbooks.

        Online tutorials - there are so many. W3Schools Online Web Tutorials is one of the best. PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor is essential, so is MySQL :: Developer Zone

        Anytime I get stuck I just search on php and a description of the problem, there's so much help out there.

        For cakephp script there's good online reference at book.cakephp.org, but you have to install the whole framework to use the script, most likely. It would be tough to jump in to a framework script cold.

        I use codeigniter for some of my projects - powerful, lightweight and well documented/ good forum support.

        For those who don't know, cake and codeigniter are php frameworks which have tons of application resources built in. You install the whole app and then develop your own site/app inside it, and once you know the framework it becomes very fast and efficient to do complex things.
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  • Profile picture of the author diondevelopment
    Originally Posted by Thomas Michal View Post

    Hey everyone, I have a question to all the programmers. I'm 24 yr old but am wondering if I'm too old to start learning computer programming?
    I thought you were going to say you were at least 50 by the thread title.

    No, you're never too old
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  • Profile picture of the author AMiRU
    Even if you're 60yo, if you've the will to learn programming then go for it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Nail Yener
    There is no age for learning. Recently I heard about a 70 year old lady who got her masters diploma or something like that. I started learning PHP and MySQL recently and I am 28. I started because I believe I cannot make some of my projects real without learning them.

    Learn, learn, learn... Apply, apply, apply... Profit, profit, profit...
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  • Profile picture of the author No1here
    Originally Posted by Thomas Michal View Post

    Hey everyone, I have a question to all the programmers. I'm 24 yr old but am wondering if I'm too old to start learning computer programming?
    Thomas, not to be insulting, although possibly a tad sarcastic, I think it's possible that I'm too old to respond to your post.

    Trust me, you're not too old. I'm at least a decade older than you are and I'm constantly learning new stuff which ranges from marketing techniques I hadn't thought of to writing scripts in languages I had only just realized even exist.

    I hope that answers your question.
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  • Profile picture of the author infopravinkul
    Well, i doesn't think so, if try to start learning any technology, your interest will make it simpler to learn, there is no age constraint on learning.
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  • Profile picture of the author bilzz
    Age is not important to learn anything ! you can do or learn anything even that work very hard to do but just concentrate and focus.
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  • Profile picture of the author izapharry
    Just stay with your previous profession and learn programing along with that, It will reduce your failure success, And 24 yr is not too old to learn Programming, Best of luck for you bright future.....
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  • Profile picture of the author PeachCoding
    I think you're only as old as you feel inside; but at 24 you're not too
    old to start anything. I say go for it as I have relatives who started & finished college degrees at least 10 - 25 years older than 24.

    Just make sure to put in 100% mind & effort and you will get it done!
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  • Profile picture of the author urban0id
    When I saw the topic I thought you're in your late 40s... Within a year you can be a pro if you're dedicated enough!
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