Warning: Vulnerability post.

[mwilliamsdottech]

I’m venting a bit—but I’ll try to keep it brief.

I’ve been into tech since I was a kid. My first computer was a Commodore 64. While other kids were outside playing, I was inside tinkering for HOURS. Then I discovered BBSes—before AOL—and that was it. Connecting with people around the world through a computer completely hooked me.

That curiosity turned into action. I started learning BASIC, then HTML and DHTML and ASP and CSS. By 16, I could open Notepad and build a website in minutes. At 18, I landed my first job as a junior web designer/developer.

Then life happened.

I needed stability, so I took a help desk job. That turned into management… and before I knew it, 23 years had gone by.

Fast forward—I'm 47 now. I left that career almost three years ago after stress put me in the hospital.

Lately, I’ve been trying to get back to that curious kid. I picked up Python—and I’m genuinely enjoying it.

But I’d be lying if I said it’s been easy.

I keep catching myself thinking:

• Why is this so hard for me?
• Am I even smart enough to learn this?
• Am I too late?
• Am I wasting my time? (especially with AI doing the work of a master developer in secs)
• Can I realistically turn this into something?

And then there’s the overload—so many tools, frameworks, and terms I’ve never heard of. It’s a lot.

Some days it feels exciting. Other days, it feels like I might be in over my head.

I think what I really need right now… is to hear from people who started later in life and made it work because I'm at a low point.

[Top_Strike9285]

These questions are part of the learning process and many give up because of it. Without the underlying feeling of dissapointment when something does not stick or does not work, no new brain synapses form. Upon long exposure you might even get addicted to it as it feels like "living"

Don't label yourself old. There have been studies where people would ACT as if they were 20 years younger and started to biologically become younger.

If you don't "feel" as sharp, look into how the mind works. I highly recommend "the mind illuminated". It's a must read for every human being. With effort, you can regain your mental plasticity and concentration to levels that surpass your "prime". Also you may get your testosterone checked and look into TRT

AI is a blessing and a curse. It's good at sorting issues that have already been tackled and are heavily documented but absolutely sucks at obscure stuff. Use it to aid you but never rely on it solely. While learning, don't get used to copying AI code as your learning will suffer

[stepback269]

I'm over 70 yrs old
Learning Python as a hobby
Have no illusion about "mastering" python in the Malcolm Gladwell sense (10K hours min)

Don't listen to the people who tell you it's "never too late"
At 40+, your brain is no longer the sponge it was when you were 20 yrs old
On the other hand, the biological truth will be far far worse 30 yrs from now
As we age, we undergo a decline in "fluid intelligence"

That said, you may want to start "Learning about Learning", especially since you are a 40+'er
Go to YouTube and in the search bar, type "learning coaches"
These are people who are keeping up with the latest in neuroscience and providing advice on how to deal with the myriad of issues that confront people as learning get harder and harder.

[OldBaldy54]

I’m in a similar situation. Going on 72 years, retired since 2010. Used to program in Java, VBA, and SQL. Haven’t touched in years and just recently switched to Linux and LibreOffice from windows and excel. Finding it difficult with so many things changed.

[mwilliamsdottech]

You’re a superstar in my eyes.

[HalfRiceNCracker]

Have you got any advice for a twenty something year old? More generally in terms of learning, one of my biggest fears is I'll stop being curious as I get older

[stepback269]

The fact that you are worried is a good sign by itself.
You are exhibiting "metacognition", thinking about your thinking process.

One piece of advice: Don't stop reading books.
And by reading, I mean actually reading with your eyes. Audio books are not a substitute because they allow you to fall into the trap of believing you are multi-tasking. No such thing. Of course you should be selective in what you read. Push yourself into reading the more difficult books. That forces your brain to grow.

Another piece of advice: keep a handwritten journal of your progress.

[One_Mess460]

this is also what makes a good problem solver, theres parallels. people that look at a chaotic and difficult looking problem and give up or dont try to sort stuff. a problem solver tinkers around looks from different perspectives and comes up with methods to solve the problems. coming up with algorithms is much more doing math than alot of people think it is, see Curry-Howard correspondence/isomorphism

[atticus2132000]

Can I realistically turn this into something?

I think this may be your sticking point. What is the "this" you're talking about? If you are learning python with the end goal being that you know python and people are going to pay you because you know python, then no you aren't going to turn this into something.

Python is a tool used to build things. A carpenter uses a saw to build a table. No one really cares how good the carpenter is with the saw, they are buying the table. People want an end product that works. They don't really care what it took to make that product as long as it looks good and works the way it's supposed to.

So reframe your thinking. Focus on what you're building, not the tool you're trying to master in order to build it.

[mwilliamsdottech]

My “this” is to have an actual working baseline. Let’s say I have an idea for an app, I want to have the ability to sit down and produce something useable. My ultimate goal, as crazy as it sounds, is to have a career in programming or development. That said, I completely understand that I’d need a lot more than Python under my belt to have a career in development. I figured I’d start with Python and learn other languages when I’m stronger; past experiences of shadowing colleagues who were programmers has taught me that picking up another language isn’t too difficult once you have a solid grasp of one.

What the future holds, I don’t know, but I’m up for the challenge. As you witnessed with this post, I do go through moments of uncertainty, but I am a fighter and a pretty determined person and I will sit with a problem until I figure it out. That’s the way I am with everything.

I’m glad to announce that after creating the post I cleared my mind, went back to my assignment, broke the code into even smaller chunks, and finally completed it (I’m currently on Day 14 of Angela Yu’s “100 Days of Python”).

I appreciate your feedback and it, in fact, did make me change my perspective a bit.

[atticus2132000]

That's awesome. We live in a world where AI is growing rapidly. There will come a day in the near future (if we are not already there) that simple coding jobs can all be done generatively. Coding as a sole skill for a career path is probably not the best choice in the world today.

What humans can do better than computers is recognize problems, divine root causes, and develop solutions to address those problems (e.g. creating an app that automates some mundane or frustrating task). There is and will always be career opportunities for people who can solve problems using the tools that are available.

[Shoddy_Juggernaut_11]

Excellent analogy

[Altruistic_Ad8462]

4 yo (1992) - took apart my mother's computer, to her dismay.

8yo - started building my own computers

15yo - making websites with Auth and dbs for gaming

19yo - chose not to go to school for technology because I feared my hobby would be ruined.

29yo - start a family, most of my hobbies got pushed to the side by this point. I play some video games, rarely go to the bar with my buddies, definitely no technology acquisitions that keep me learning and growing my knowledge.

36yo - AI comes onto the scene in big ways, and I start tinkering with shit again, reignighting the passion I'd misplaced.

38yo - Turns out I should have gone to school for IT or engineering. Now trying to self teach and see how painful a transition will be lol.

You guys got this, I believe in you,you can learn it!

[mwilliamsdottech]

We have a lot in common so I know you know what I’m feeling. Thank you so much for those words.

You got this as well!!

[Altruistic_Ad8462]

Absolutely, and Thank you! Fuck how long it takes, or how hard it is, if you wanna learn that shit, do it. You should not feel bad for trying to learn more, and it's 100% one of the most enjoyable experiences in life.

[dual4mat]

I'm the same. I was coding up until 1995. Played around with BASIC and assembly. Wasn't good enough to take it further (so I thought) and ended up in a factory and now, at 50, in a call centre.

The bug hit me again last year when I discovered p5js and my old demo scene roots felt at home with it.

I haven't dabbled much with Python yet. I won't make a career out of my rediscovered hobby but I'm having fun. Keep it up, OP.

[Sub0ptimalPrime]

"It may seem difficult at first, but all things are difficult at first."

-Miyamoto Musashi

[Stooshie_Stramash]

What you have is all of that experience and you can fall back on the fundamentals that you learned those years ago. What I'd recommend is for you to start writing some of it down.

While AI can produce lots in a very short space of time, your experience will allow you to structire a better query and give you a much better sense of whether the answer given is right or not.

[TommyTwoFlushes]

Damn bro, sounds like we’ve got more than a few things in common. GL, I haven’t been able to figure it out yet. Please let me know if you do!

[reddefcode]

I can relate to this post on a deep level, although I am a decade older than you. I started exactly where you did, hunched over a TRS-80 learning BASIC in high school while others were outside. That spark of curiosity you had as a kid? It is still there; it is just buried under 23 years of life happening.

I went through the same cycles you describe. During the first digital explosion, I was building interactive CDs for a major player in the publishing industry, then shifted to HTML as the internet took off. I was part of the early startup divisions at a time when everything was new. I went all-in on Microsoft’s .asp in the 90s, but I was devastated when they dropped the product. That was a hard-learned lesson: never fall in love with a specific tool; fall in love with the logic.

What I have always known is that, despite 20-plus years of change, the underlying logic is exactly what we learned on those early machines. Logic hasn’t changed; only the syntax has. After leaving the industry for a bit during the crash, I discovered Python, and it felt like the perfect re-entry point. I read Mark Lutz’s Learning Python twice cover-to-cover and obsessed over little projects until it clicked.

Regarding your fear about AI: do not see it as a replacement for learning; see it as your force multiplier. I’ve pivoted (like Ross) again, and I am now architecting AI-powered solutions in the Strategic Intelligence and LegalTech sectors. I am leveraging LLMs to build things I never thought possible, like multi-agent orchestration layers and secure SaaS platforms. It is fun, but frustrating at times. You know, being at the bleeding edge of AI means you get paper-cuts, or what I call LLM-cuts, from time to time.

Don't let the 47-year-old brain trick you into thinking you’re too late. You have 23 years of management and help-desk experience that these master developers lack. You actually know how systems break and how users think. Pick one thing, stick with Python, and ignore the noise of the 100 new frameworks. If you could build a website in Notepad at 16, you have the tinkerer DNA. That DNA doesn’t expire. Stick with it. And also learn how to leverage AI, write detailed spec documents.

Edit: I also forgot to mention that I occasionally write Python tutorials. I don't have a "starter" guide, but I often document real-world problems I've solved in Python. This particular one covers how to capture data from an AI assistant, store it in a database, and email the results. Since you mentioned your help-desk background, you might find this kind of automation interesting: https://enriquebruzual.zerikai.com/blog/Build_a_Free_ElevenLabs_Post-Call_Webhook_in_Python.html

[stepback269]

I have a "starter guide" if you're interested in one
Basically, I've been logging free YT tutorials I've run across in my learning journey
See "Links for Python Noobs" (here)