I'm in my late 40s and I just got a bachelor's degree. I just started a masters program. It's never too late.
this post was submitted on 04 Jul 2023
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no, but at 23 you'd wish you started at 22
as the saying goes the best time to start was when you were 6 the second best time is now
Don't ever, and I mean ever, let anyone tell you that you're too old to try something new. If anyone ever does, know, deep in your heart, that person is insecure and afraid of being their authentic self. Go forth, try new things, learn new knowledge, find out you don't like things, sometimes get frustrated, and discover the things that make life worth living for you. You will be so much happier if you set aside what anyone else will think of you and focus on "This interests me"
I don't understand why you would think 22 is too old? Am I missing something?
Think OP just needs some perspective and probably got it.
If it's something you're passionate about, you're never too old.
In 4 years, you will be 26. That will happen regardless of your decision. But you can choose now whether you will be a 26-year-old with a CompSci degree, or a 26-year-old without one.
(It's also pretty common in IT to see people go back to formal education to update their skills)
In a word, no. In a longer word, noooooo.
You made me spitu beer out in a dark room. Thanks for making my world happier and wettier.
Where are you from? This is a strange sentiment from my perspective. I didn't even know what I wanted to do when I was 22. But I had the privilege of growing up in a country that doesn't burden youth with high interest university debt. I appreciate that in some countries you need to get a job as soon as you finish studying to pay loans etc. To answer your question specifically, no, 22 is not too old to start studying computer science.
I'm from Israel.
Where does the pressure to choose a career so early come from?
Societal pressure to "settle down" as young as possible. Due to the economy of course that has become a very unrealistic expectation.
That's tough, I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I didn't know what I wanted to do at 22. I'm grateful I spent time to work out what I was passionate about. I started working in tech when I was about nearly 30. My career has been fulfilling because it's something I enjoy and I'm passionate about. Good luck mate
Dude, most people in Israel start a degree around 22-24 in Israel. You're not the only one who served 3 years in the military. Starting a degree earlier is almost exclusively for privileged people. If you can get accepted to a uni at 22, that's actually really early - you'd be the youngest post-army person in class.
If you didn't serve in the military, at least you're not behind in academic terms.
edit: this isn't even taking into account the perspective of age. The time you'll have between finishing the degree and just being 40 is A LOT longer than it seems at 22. I'm 29, you have soooooooo much time. And on a second age perspective, even at 40 it's not a bad idea because you can just do whatever you want.
TL;DR just go for it
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I started doing digital design and animation at 29. Made a career out of it. I think you are safe.
Many people start in their 30's to learn programming. So no, 22 is not too old.
It's never too old to get into anything dude, just do what you like!
The answer to is X years too old to start Y activity is almost always no.
I've been a professional software engineer for over ten years now. I didn't study anything to do with computers until I was 20; I'd been aiming for a different career and was halfway through a degree before I discovered I didn't enjoy it and wasn't getting very good grades, so I swapped.
While at uni, I was part of the student mentor program where I did teaching assistant work for the lower years. One of the students in the lab group I assisted was a guy in his forties who'd seen his factory job automated away and decided if computers were going to take his job, he'd go learn how to work with computers and move into the sector that was creating jobs rather than removing them. He was a good student and picked things up quickly. I have every confidence he's still out there doing well as an engineer.
22 is a perfectly fine age to start. If you've got the right attitude - the desire and motivation to focus on your studies and put in the work - you'll do great.
One thing worth being aware of beforehand though is how a lot of your studying might go. The professor I assisted in those labs told me about an observation that's been made in the teaching profession, and I saw it in action myself. A lot of computer science and programming is about finding the mental model that helps you understand what's happening, how the computers work. Until you find it, you'll be stuck. Then, something will click, and it'll make sense. The professor told me they don't see the usual bell curve of grades - they see two. One cluster of students at the bottom who don't get it, and one higher up who understand. A lot of learning computing is less of a linear progression and more a process of running into the wall until you chance upon the particular explanation or analogy or perspective that works for the way you think, and then suddenly that particular concept is easy, and it's onto the next one. This series of little clicks is how you progress.
Once you've got a few core concepts down it's easier to work out how new things fit into the mental model you're constructing, but be prepared for the early bits to have some frustrating periods where it feels like you aren't getting anywhere. Stick at it, and look around for other resources, other books or tutorials, other people to explain it their way. I frequently saw a student look totally clueless at my explanation, but another student who'd understood what I said would paraphrase it slightly differently, and that was all it took for the clueless student to suddenly understand and pass the exercise. That lightbulb moment is as fun to experience yourself as it is to bring about in others. You just have to hang in there until it happens.
The only way you're "too old" for something is if you are like 60 and want to become a commercial pilot. The age limit is 65 and if you spend a few years training, you're left with like 1 year of flying time. No airline would hire you, and that probably doesn't earn as much as the time you spent.
But computer science have no age limit. Age 22 is barely anything. You're just a child (like not in a bad way), not even old enough to be a US Congressperson or US President. If you keep wondering about if you're too old, you might soon actually become "too old". Start now.
And good luck! 😉
I think yes, if you consider that you can still get hooked on a pretty bad heroin addiction, you are probably already through with most of your life. Instead of wasting your last years trying to figure out all the bits and bytes, you could just enjoy the rest of it.
You're never too old for heroin!
Not at all, I have worked with people in their thirties/fourties that are juniors cause they did a reconversion. There is no age to start computer science, it is a pretty vast field with a lot of demand!
My computer sciences teacher was from a generation that was im their thirties when they touched their first pc. Yet, he taught me so much and is very good at it.
It's never too late.
Waaay too old..
Of course not, dude. I switched careers from music to software dev at 28 without any formal education (now 7yrs later a senior dev).
Nah. Graduated uni at 21. Became a teacher at 25. Doing my MSc (unrelated subject) this year to change careers at 39 (when I'll graduate).
Never too old. I'm 35 and just now starting to figure out what I might want to be when I grow up.
Good grief.
I’ve been a developer for nearly 30 years, started my IT degree when I was 24. No, you’re not too old to start!
Is 22 too old to start...
Nope.
Am a heck of a lot older...and have gone blind. I'm still learning things all the time. If it is firing your curiosity it is worth giving a shot. By all means go for it!
...and thank you for the post. You have convinced me to try something new myself. Enjoy!
Of course not, I didn’t get my degree until I was 32 (Army and general immaturity stopped me from going until I was 26)
I’ve now done the gamut from being a web dev to desktop apps to API development and currently a senior devops engineer. I’ve worked for big companies like Microsoft and small non-profits in the healthcare space.
I guess what I’m saying is you have decades ahead of you, fill it with the work you find interesting. Our field is ever changing and has so many niches and specialties. The work you start out doing will probably not be where you end up. Always be learning.
I'm in my forties and your question reminds me of myself when I was your age.
My advice: don't think it twice, just dive in.
edit: autocorrect typo
No.
Computer science is the academic name. If you're planning on becoming a software engineer, you can also self learn that via YouTube and books; though academia does give a pretty good start.
The best time to plant a tree is yesterday. The next best time is right now.
When I was studying to get a CS degree at a major university there were many people older than 22, even a couple in their 40s. 4 years won't slow you down.
No. I graduated with a degree in CS at 26, but learned everything I really needed to know on the job. Probably wasn't until 30 that things started picking up. Now I make close to half a million a year at almost 40. Do it.
No. I came to it in my early 30s and I'm doing OK, having worked in software for almost 20 years now.
Generally, if you're in your 20s and you're wondering if you're too old for something, the answer is probably no unless it's pro sports or becoming a world famous violinist.
Practically one foot in the grave, time to retire.
not at all. i fell into computing in my mid 20s. somehow i managed to learn enough to get myself hired at one of the largest technology companies in the world where i've now been over 20 years.
has it been easy? definitely not. without that classic computer science degree my peers have i've had to be scrappier and move faster to be on top of emerging tech where the playing field is a little more equal. i can this "surfing" the tech.
since i started i've participated in the birth of the internet, mobile, public cloud, big data, startups and now ai.
if you love it you can make it happen - just be realistic and stay scrappy ❤️
it's never too late to start studying anything
Not even close. Started a CS degree 7 years ago at 28 and am a director of engineering now, if it’s what you wan to do go for it. I will give a warning that the market isn’t amazing right now, and people getting into it just because they see the salaries is flooding the entry level positions. If you’re motivated and excited about building software you’ll be fine, but something to be aware of.
I graduated at 27 and got an internship in SF. Life changed.
YOU'RE NEVER TOO OLD START NOW 🔫
Never too old. I pivoted from the biology field / med school track to computer science at around the same age.
Haven’t looked back
Lol. My big brother went back to school for his comp sci degree when he was 31. He's 60 and makes like 300k
No way. I started learning computer science on the job when I was older than you. I took my time, asked questions, studied after work every day, got a better job, which led to another better job and another. In just 6 years of working my ass off, I've been able to rise the top of my field in IT. You can do it. Anyone can. Perserverance is the absolute key. When it gets hard, and it will... just believe in yourself, and do it anyway.
Good luck! You got this!
Not at all.
Everything that i use in my daily work for the last 12 years, i learnt after age 19. I was an electronics engineer by education.
I learnt Linux, operating systems, systems programming etc all later on. And now I'm a systems developer with 12 years of experience.
it's almost never too late to do anything, excepting perhaps trying to get a 4 year degree when you're 80+ years old. then it's probably a bad idea.
No. You can absolutly get somewhere in your lifetime. At 22, you are just a forth of the way through an average lifetime, with 3/4 left. You have plenty of time to do all sorts of things. You are not to old to try something new.
No not at all. This makes me sound old now but when I was 22, the popular languages used today like Rust and Go didn't even exist. In a constantly changing field, everybody is always learning!
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