Career advice about programming.

[karamouzouklis]

I am thinking of returning back to school to get a degree in Computer programming.

Thing is that when i am finished, I will be around 34-35 years old.
Now I work as a Cop.

How realistic is to think that at that age i will be able to have good job offers in the field? Will i be considered an old goose, and the best Job I will ever get till I retire, is to do entry level programming?

I understand that at first I wont land a high level job, but will I be stuck there even if I gain good experience after few years?

Thank you.

 

[calbear2000]

Age shouldn't matter. When I was in school, there were a few people in their 30'4 and 40's that returned to school to seek a new profession

I work at a very large high-tech company. There are "older" people who have the limited experience of a recent college grad either because they switched jobs within the company or they went back to school and entered this industry for the first time.

PM me, and I'll give you my email address.

 

[karamouzouklis]

thank you for y our reply man

MODS....forgive the double POST.....Galeon did its trick again. I didnt mean to spam.

 

[gopunk]

my mom was basically in your position a while back, she just graduated with a degree in CS from the UW (one of the top CS departments in the country).

unfortunately, she's not really working in the field (she's more or less gone to business)... so i dunno. what field are you in right now?

 

[jpsj82]

<< my mom was basically in your position a while back, she just graduated with a degree in CS from the UW (one of the top CS departments in the country).
unfortunately, she's not really working in the field (she's more or less gone to business)... so i dunno. what field are you in right now? >>



<< Thing is that when i am finished, I will be around 34-35 years old. Now I work as a Cop. >>

 

[karamouzouklis]

I am a Cop at the moment.

 

[DaveSimmons]

There is currently some discrimination against 40-year-olds, especially in start up companies filled with 20-somethings. Of course most of those companies have gone bankrupt because they were run by clueless 20-somethings

The average age in most tech companies (and in the population itself) keeps going up, so the discrimination should diminish by the time you're job-seeking. You'll probably need to search harder for your first job than a dewy-eyed 20 year old, but once you get experience you should be able to move up in the company or move to a better job in another company.

Don't just do it for the money though, if you don't actually enjoy programming you'll have a much harder time with the classes, probably get a low GPA, and never get good enough to do the more interesting work.

FYI, I'm a thirtysomething full-time software developer, though I haven't changed jobs since '99.

 

[kranky]

DaveSimmons is right - if you don't enjoy it, don't try to do it as a career. If you have a knack for programming and enjoy it I think you'll be successful regardless of your age. One of the big reasons companies like the 20-somethings is they can work 80 hours a week. Ever notice how some companies have free soft drinks and snacks, they will pick up and deliver dry cleaning, get you a ride when your car needs to go in the shop, etc.? The employees think it's because the company likes them so much they give out all these wild perks. In reality, it's to eliminate reasons why people need to leave work! They know the older employees have families so they can't work all those hours.

A superstar programmer is worth literally 5 average ones from the standpoint of productivity. You don't have to be a superstar, but if you are good, you'll be alright.