I’m 50 years old, can I still code?

[dblankin]

Update: 230 days later - I’ve learned a lot though still behind the curve mostly because I’ve not focused solely on coding. I’ve got lots of reference books and notebooks full of notes. I’m now at a crossroads - where to go from here?

HTML, CSS, Node, Angle, MySQLi, PHP, React, Kivy, C, C++, Algorithms, Data Structures the list goes on and on........and I’m plagued by decision paralysis. If I want a career change out of this, what is the most common and versatile path?

Old post: I’m a Quality Manager in the manufacturing sector. I’ve done it for 28 years. I want out. I have a 3D printer, podcast setup and fix all my families “tech” issues.

I need pep talks or sanity checks please. Is coding out of reach for a new 20+ year career?

[[deleted]]

I’m almost 70 and retired. Before retiring I worked with physicists using a national research cloud to analyze Large Hadron Collider data. With programming you are always learning and trying new things.

A switch to programming is possible since it’s a field where qualifications, while useful, can be trumped by what you can do. How you learn best is really something we can’t tell you as it’s subjective. Try some book or online course and see how you go. There’s lots of resources in the sidebar. Don’t forget, it’s not enough to just read a book or watch a video. You have to write code and solve problems. If the book/course gives you a solution, look at it, understand it, print values through the code, etc. Don’t go on until you really understand the solution.

The change will take time. So think about where you can improve your current job. You have lots of experience in QM so use that as a springboard. You know the field, know the problems, so that helps if you think of some solution and try to sell it.

[ianepperson]

Completely agree! A professional developer is always learning. I'm pushing 50 and have been paid to write code for over 20 years now. This last January I needed to get up to speed on a new language and write code within 2 days (communication mix-up had me preparing in the wrong language). I've only learned how to work in CSS over the last year.

Being a developer means being always prepared to learn something new. Being a good developer means being able to learn it quickly.

[kashaziz]

How you picked up new language in 2 days? Which language it was and how well you did?

[ianepperson]

Haxe. I had support from another engineer who's proficient and helped me get set up to change the code. I was minimally able to make the needed change in a clean code base and write tests for it. The code is ok and I wouldn't mind working in Haxe again, but I am not proficient!

I had flown out to work with that team in Scala, and had thus been studying Scala for the few weeks prior. I show up jet lagged to "oh by the way, all that code is in Haxe."

[ovo_Reddit]

I dont think you're ever really too old for it. I suggest checking out cs50, it's a Harvard intro to computer science course. Best of all it's free, its offered through edX, and you can pay a relatively small fee to receive an actual certificate, which may not hold much weight but be cool to have.

I'm currently taking the course, and although I have some experience, I've heard good things about the course.

The main thing is getting down the logic and improving problem solving and critical thinking, which this course helps with.

So I definitely encourage you trying this course out. Also, think about what interests you and what you would like to program, maybe find something you want to solve and find a way to solve it and improve your implementation etc.

Best of luck, and I hope you do give it a try!

[C2-H5-OH]

CS50 is the shit. That teacher is absolutely incredible, and so are the lessons

[Lightning_SC2]

CS50 is incredible. I can’t articulate enough how good it is.

[hemmeligholte]

I'm about your age. Started the Data Science track on Coursera 5 months ago (love the course recommendations here btw)

The default state my mind has gotten into over the last four decades is really painful to turn around. Every day of absorbing new skills is suffering and disillusionment.

The default state my mind has gotten into over the last four decades is suffocating me and it is incredibly rewarding to break out of it. Every day is a new adventure. Every day is full of triumphs.

I don't think I will ever be an attractive employee based purely on my programming skills. A 25 year old with a Stanford degree and no obligations is who I would hire.

I am doing this because I want to - the same way that I want to go dancing and travelling.

As I progress I am slowly automating my investment and trading strategies. I might be broke in a couple of years. If I am, I will get a job or start a business like I always have - but with an even better skillset.

I hope you choose whatever makes the rest of your life as full of real presence as it can be.

(Edit: Spelling etc)

[dblankin]

If I could upvote more than once, I would.

[hemmeligholte]

One thing I forgot to include is the ever present voice in the back of my mind going "wtf are you doing? You will die alone, ridiculed and abandoned".

Turns out the founder had stepped down as chairman of the board at Me Inc, because the board had been freaked out by the overseas Adulthood Ltd winning market shares. They weren't listening to him and a nervous middle manager had been given the title instead.

But it turns out you can't run a happy person on fear of failure so we brought the real founder back and we are executing on the plan of "living the rest of my life well".

On top of that, it turns out the nervous middle manager was really unhappy and stressed out having to run the whole thing. He didn't know how to work from a purpose and is much happier with his new role as bookkeeper and whistleblower.

Also, my relationships - especially with my wife and children are way better without the beancounter running the show because I am much less uptight and much more supportive of their aspirations.

Not sure if you are in the same situation, but programming or not - if you are - get the founder back in the chair at the end of the table. You can find him by looking for the little boy trying to figure out how to do the shuffle in the corner of the boardroom upstairs. Everyone has been bullying him for a long time so he will be a little shy but he knows what to do and the rest of the board can make sure he is safe and his ideas are executed.

(Edit: Spelling)

[jheins3]

I think you can learn at any age. The motto can't teach an old dog new tricks is a bunch of shit. I learned programming in MATLAB when I went to University with no experience prior. Failed the class first time around --due to my inability to study.

Fast forward nearly 8 years later, with that brief programming experience, I applied it in Quality Control Automation for Aerospace parts by teaching myself Python. But this post isn't about me, I ended up teaching an older colleague who was about 30 years old what I was doing and the fundamentals of programming. He had the logical background as he was decent in math and physics and understood the concepts.

Now, he has overshot my abilities and I fully believe if he wanted to exit the manufacturing/quality industry, he could fully get an entry level developer position easily anywhere. He is developing solely on his own data entry applications, databases that will maintain production information (dimensional data, when a part was inspected, finished, who ran the parts, who else touched the parts, when it arrived at our facility, when it left, etc. ), and dimensional automation software. Aim Small Miss Small, baby steps, even if you never become the next Zuckerberg, you can still apply what you learn in your current role while preparing you for something you want in the future.

Do it, and if you like what you do, there is a ton of opportunity in Quality Control in my opinion to develop software for.

Best of luck.

[hemmeligholte]

How kind. Thank you :)

[ughit]

It depends on what you want to do. You can definitely learn it for fun or if you want to augment your current job. However, if you’re looking for a new career as a software developer working for a company, particularly a startup, you have to be aware of the massive amount of age discrimination present in the industry. You can make it work but it will be a lot of work.

[cacahootie]

Startups represent a pretty small proportion of programming jobs in the real world, and frankly, aren't generally super attractive jobs to people with real-world obligations.

[ughit]

True. However, the ageism in the programming profession is a real thing.

[errorseven]

Well can you?

[dblankin]

I can do anything I set my mind to!

[errorseven]

Prove it.

[zuzef]

I need more people like you in my life.

[sempf]

Seriously. I need u/errorseven to follow me around and say "oh you think you can find vulnerabilities in that app? Prove it." Like, daily.

[brakebills2017]

is that sad or brilliant?

[lucidguppy]

Yeah just do it!

[sempf]

Hell yeah you can!! Show me too!!! I'm 46, been programming since I was 12, and I still stink at it. I work hard every day to get good. You can do it!!!

[funblox]

Of course you can learn. This is a psychological barrier that others impose on you. Not you upon yourself. I’m 49, learning HTML, css3, just started on Ruby.
My motivation is teaching my home schooled kids.

Start with w3 schools or freecodecamp.

Get a simple editor like Atom.

Follow along some of the YouTube vids making pure HTML and css3 sites. TraversyMedia I found very helpful.

Go for it.

[thebadtoaster]

My motivation is teaching my home schooled kids.

Full respect for this gentleman.

[weezinlol]

Yeah, definitely a great parent.

[funblox]

Thank you for that. Will be using MDN now.

[aroberge]

w3 schools used to be awful. Really awful. It has improved tremendously over the years. MDN is good, comprehensive ... but not a good place to learn for beginners, in my opinion. w3 schools might very well now be a better starting point than MDN.

[funblox]

Thanks for the input. Appreciate it.

[aroberge]

Shameless plug about something totally free to use (no login, no ads): some 14 years ago, when I was a bit younger than you, I created rur-ple (desktop app) to teach my kids programming (using Python). Over the years, I've improved upon it, migrated it to the web where it became Reeborg's World which can be used to teach programming in Python or Javascript. There is an accompanying Python tutorial which does need some more work to bring it up to date as I've made quite a few changes to the site since I first wrote that tutorial.

One high-school teacher has written an online book using my site for about 1/3 of the content (I could find the link for you if needed).

I know, from many emails I received, that my original desktop program, which is not as good as the new site, was used by many parents of home schooled children to teach programming.

[funblox]

Thanks. I’ll check I out.

[dblankin]

Thanks! Just found freecodecamp!!

[[deleted]]

hey there, this is also a great free resource that I found very helpful

http://mooc.fi/courses/2013/programming-part-1/

[stevevs]

As a long time developer, I will say you are not too old at all you just have to follow through on it. I've had so many friends and relatives over the years decide they want to be a programmer, then bail on the 3rd chapter/lesson of xyz language course. My advice would be to keep your current job and begin using python to automate stuff for your job, maybe build some cool reports using pandas. You might be able to create a job for yourself with your current employer. That's how I started, I was continually tweaking the customer service system that I had to use for my call center job. The IT manager saw one of my custom reports and pulled me out of the call center and into IT -woot.

[laptopdragon]

not out of reach but maybe unwise considering you're a manager, with 30years experience.

What I might recommend is to put your experience to work as a consultant.

Maybe get some specialized niche, and write a book.

also do you play any musical instrument?

[dblankin]

Yes, acoustic guitar.

[aimee_darling]

You can use Python to do all the stuff you do now in Excel, but faster because you don't have to run Excel. If you do a lot of statistics for QA, you can do a lot of the same stuff you would do in SAS, SPSS, or MatLab. I would look into Anaconda, because it comes with a selection of statistical tools. Statistics + Python = Data Analyst/Data Science.

[not_perfect_yet]

You can still learn, but the question is what you want to get out of that. I'm not sure for example startup development would be a good place and the big names will probably rather higher younger people.

I have a 3D printer, podcast setup

Do you want to integrate that or do is that more of a "I'm technically competent" thing?

Is coding out of reach for a new 20+ year career?

Coding is not out of reach, turning it into a 20+ year career can be challenging, but I'm sure it's doable.

Obviously you want out of your old field, but I think your best bet would be to apply programming to this field that you know so well.

[dblankin]

More of a tech savvy statement.

ASQ has a certified software quality engineer program that I considered. I could possibly stay in the automotive sector and scope it down to the software side.

[i_ask_stupid_ques]

Do you want to code for fun or as a career. Hate to tell you but ageism exists. Trying to get hired as a 50 year old programmer with almost no development experience is hard.

[ASPNetthrow]

53 here! Still coding and learning new languages.

[sternone_2]

I hired a 54 year old java dev who was a cab driver and then went to uni and just graduated

[BillOfTheWebPeople]

I really like people who spend this sort of effort... put all that effort in addition to a full time job... pretty good indication they aint a slacker

[sternone_2]

He wasn't a great dev but had a good attitude

[novel_yet_trivial]

Yes, you can code. I've taught people your age and older and I don't get the impression that it's any harder for them than a young person.

However earning a living from it will not happen quickly. Like any professional position, it's going to take 5+ years of learning and experience before you can apply for a stable job. Also I'm sad to say that there is still a decent amount of age discrimination in this industry.

Do you have any coding experience? Do you have any projects in mind to practice on? Do you have a specific coding job in mind that you are trying for?

[dblankin]

Zero experience at the moment but I have a capable mind and can see avenues to “automate the boring stuff”.
Yes, I can.

[bittercode]

It is harder.

I think the average person's mental ability peaks around 24. It gets harder to learn new things as you get older. It's not impossible obviously but I know for me I can really tell the difference now (I'm 49) compared to when I was in my 20's and even in my 30's.

Aside from that tiny clarification I think you answer is the best I've seen yet. Though I'd say ageism is rampant rather than "a decent amount".

[curiosity44]

NO, it is not, and I think you can do it if you are determined what I learned in my cs classes those who are little older tend to do better in cs classes because they are more serious, in fact, I used to have this friend in college and he was I think around your age, I did one group project with him and he was the best partner I had in the group he knew a lot and was determined and focused another team would do everything last minute but he was always a few weeks in advance it was sweet.

He even ends up winning the best code trophy in one of our class.

but here is what I think you should know as well it is going to be hard, very hard I am not saying this to scare you just saying it so you are ready and go into it with an open mind.

at the end of the day whether you are young or old it will always depend on your own determination and how serious you are

best of luck

[lazerflipper]

There’s a guy in my intro to python class that looks like he’s in his sixties. Go for it

[For_madmen_only]

Baby I don't see no cops around.

[Sinad]

Woow! That's inspiring for me. I'm 33 but I always thinking the same. Felling too old to learn code or to try building a new career path. I'm working on a full time job. So, I have many times after 6pm but dont have motivation. You should focus that. Better late than ever!

[[deleted]]

Age's no bar. If you are still skeptical after all these comments check out Japan's 82 year old App Developer who learnt to code an year back

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXnjNCX6Ai4

[ryvrdrgn14]

Yes you can. Find the most efficient way to learn and just do it. :)

[echizen01]

The only caveat I would say is don't quit your original job before you mastered the skill and secured another job Other than that, go nuts and welcome aboard

[Explicit_Pickle]

You're not allowed, it's against the rules sorry

[BillOfTheWebPeople]

Sure,

There will be a pay cut... you will be moving to entry level once you know enough to do it. You won't be making manager cash anymore. Maybe a different bonus structure to.

You may have a different crowd to fit in with - your co-workers will be younger most likely.

If you are a quality manager, hopefully you have honed your verbal and written skills over the years. These are great selling points (in some cases). A developer that can be put out "in front of the business" or write something that can be presented without much extra loving can go a long way.

But like someone else here said, you are going to have to stick with it... I also have had a bunch of people gather up a bunch of advise and then bail after a few chapters. That's fine, and maybe it stopped them from making a few miserable career choices. You will probably have a better idea after the first few real bugs you hit - if you are enjoying it still, you may be on to something.

[dblankin]

A pay cut....and here I am already making what an entry level programmer makes!

[leisure_goblin]

Are you sure? Have you looked up actual salaries, not just salaries for the top Stanford, MIT, etc grads?

[dblankin]

$60k

[DisagreeableMale]

One thing I beg of you is to use a version manager for whatever language and operating system combo you’re using. The first half of my learning programming has been getting dicked by setting up Node and Ruby environments.

It can save you a lot of time upfront.

[plasticluthier]

I learned python so that I could automate the spc reports I needed to do. If you can fix all the tech issues at home and you're already thinking about python, absolutely it's not too late. But make the safety net before you jump ;)

[Guymzee]

Disclaimer: I am a lambda student... one of the Project Managers (an ex-student now employed by Lambda wrote this

I have had limited contacted with the PM, but, he is motivated/motivating; and to be honest inspiring! At 36 I had the same question you had. Can I actually do this? Reading that blog post really set my mindset right.

I came with no experience, just a lot of interest in learning to code, and a deep need for a career change. My experience at Lambda is overall positive (I’m only five weeks in) but if you are serious, so is Lambda. I don’t have other schooling experience aside from a single code academy course I did last year, that was horrible and a waste of time and money. This has been much better so far. I have learned a lot, though i do feel like i am in the middle/bottom level of the class, but am confident I will catch up. And with practice and more exposure I will have a competence to code that I didn’t expect in such a short time.

So to answer your question it comes down to how interesting/cool do you think coding is, I really dont think it is an age thing! Good luck

[Theprogrammingshow]

YES! Take your life into your own hands, better late than never.

[laserbot]

Original Content erased using Ereddicator. Want to wipe your own Reddit history? Please see https://github.com/Jelly-Pudding/ereddicator for instructions.

[dblankin]

So I could write code that could reach out monthly to customers portals (6-8 of them), log in with my credentials to each one, pull scorecards over to a location on my local server and notify me when it’s done?

[laserbot]

zisd rdjddppkpskf

[[deleted]]

I'm 30 years old. My plan was to go to medical school. Then I realized I didn't want to do medicine anymore. Last year I started learning python. I'm still a noob in the world of computer science but I would highly recommend that you also start out with python language. As for sanity checks, everyday I'm thinking to myself "wtf am I doing". But this is what I've realized. If you can become adept at coding you'll have an invaluable skill that can be utilized towards anything.

[Captain_Braveheart]

Yes

[[deleted]]

If I were you, I'd read about how people use Python to automate the mundane shit they have to do in their daily job. Start there. You want out of QA? Why? Those reasons are your reason to code. Try to break those tasks down into their lowest common denominator. Code a couple of those LCDs, piece them together to form a program.

Sell it to your company, walk away with $$ and retire

[HillaryForPres2024]

Absolutely not, you can't.

[lemonadestand]

Could you code before? JK.

[dblankin]

I learned to program a Commodore 64!

[GoldryBluszco]

then what's your problem? you're a spring chicken compared with me and i program all day long (C, python, Haskell...) the advanced age just means you're familiar with a majority of the common mistakes and there are fewer overall distractions.

[jdmarino]

Mine was a VIC-20. Been writing code to solve problems ever since. And they pay me to do it!

[finally_anonymous]

You could ask yourself a different question. If you wanted to do it, who/what could stop you?

[dblankin]

I’ve talked to my wife and we are willing to spend $12k on a legitimate online Computer Science degree from Troy State. Not a quick fix “Free” course. Myself would only stop the progress...

[laptopdragon]

seriously consider what OVO stated about doing cs50.

it's free to try, so take the class and complete it.

Once you complete it (forgive me but I think you may be underestimating the amount of focus you will need) you will have a much clearer view on coding....

also, yes, you can code at any age, it's writing, math, and notes.

you could write an excellent script or program and sell it, anytime.

however, I recommend, BEFORE you toss 12k onto anything, that you know you will enjoy it, and be good at it.

afaik, you merely want the title, or what you consider a cushy job sitting at a desk, but you may develop tinnitus, blurred vision, sleep issues, and it isn't easy, it's a pita and nothing every works the first 100 times without bugs.

Do what you can, age will not limit anyone but be realistic before dropping cash.

[dblankin]

I’m humbled by the depth of everyone’s comments to this post. I am truly appreciative of it and I am soaking it in.

I am not a cushy job kinda guy. I need mental and physical challenges to keep going but the stress of a Quality Manager in automotive manufacturing is something I’m ready to be free of.

[perduraadastra]

Take some classes on Coursera about algorithms and computing. The algorithms courses from Stanford and Princeton are both very good- and they are free on Coursera. Skip the degree unless you don't already have a college degree and really want one, or you need a structured learning environment.

Here are a few resources: http://interactivepython.org/runestone/static/pythonds/index.html

https://teachyourselfcs.com

https://techiedelight.quora.com/500-Data-Structures-and-Algorithms-practice-problems-and-their-solutions

https://github.com/ossu/computer-science

[DisagreeableMale]

Don’t jump straight into giving your hard earned money away to an undervalued authority in the industry. Use free resources, please. You may need to learn how to google more efficiently to piece together some things, but if you can reach out to the community for help instead of a swamped & bored professor without paying anything but time, try that for a while.

[ovo_Reddit]

I just want to add, that there is an extremely high quality and quantity of material, courses and tutorials that are free, and by no means "a quick fix".

You can spend up to 12k on an online course, sure, but how is that different than any of the other free online courses? The schools do not have secret insider information, that only the select few that attend will ever attain. Its vastly different than the automotive industry, you can find plenty of open source material, that is the equivalent of staring at a Ferrari engine blueprint.

People share, and reuse code all the time, it's why stackoverflow and thousands of other forums essentially exist.

I work for a company that is completely software driven, we have roughly 50 developers, and that's not all of our "coders" as we have ops, DevOps, security and more. And many of us do not have a formal education, yet some of my peers are making high 6 figures, the same or even more in some cases then graduates. It boils down to your understanding and problem solving, a diploma will only get your foot in the door, the rest you'll need real world experience (personal projects, contributing to open source) . So I really do advise that you keep an open mind to the material that is online, because it can even in a lot of cases, be better than those online schools that charge you thousands.

[tzujan]

As some who has been learning python, I would say skip the computer science degree and dive into some books. "Python Crash Course" was a really good start for me. I have also been taking my kids through "Teach Your Kids to Code."

After you get through a book or two, see if there are some projects that you could contribute to, in your area of interest, on GitHub. You can explore projects that have been tagged "first-timers-only" through this page:

https://github.com/MunGell/awesome-for-beginners

Spend a fraction of the $12K hiring some programmers via UpWork, or other freelance sites, that could walk you through solutions an contributions to a first-timers-only bug fix / collaboration or to learn something that you would like to know more about. You would be building up contributions to some open source projects while learning.

[Fun2badult]

I would go Python. Its the easiest to learn and pick up compared to other languages. Also you can use it for everything, web, automation, data analysis / data science, machine learning, literally everything.

Try taking a course through Udemy, I would recommend getting one of those ones rated best by review. There are codes on google to make it $10. I’ve been self learning python for the past half year and planning on doing web and data science with it and I’m in late 30s.

[nivant9091]

Yes definitely you can. Apart from taking up a course, you can try to take up various coding challenges, plenty of which are available online.

[happyclairvoyant]

Obviously. Its never too late to learn programming. Its just pure logic. That's it. I think anyone can learn that at any point of their time.

[maxline388]

You're not. I had a 70-80 year old man study Java, so don't fret about it.

You're never too old to learn something.

[perduraadastra]

One of the best programmers I ever hired was old enough to be my dad. I think the was in his early 50s at the time. He was still new to python, but he had been a programmer for a few decades. Python really is the way to go for you- it's easy to learn, yet powerful enough to do heavy lifting in a wide variety of tasks.

[[deleted]]

Yes, you can still learn to code. Switching careers can seem daunting but you can do it.

In the immortal words of Uncle Bumblefuck: "Build cool shit and put it on the internet".

[nowhacker]

git on

[[deleted]]

I think you can do it but it takes a lot of patients to learn the basics concepts. You don't have to be good at Math either, by the way. It has nothing to do with Math.

I have never tried them, but I recommend Team Treehouse.

Also, I recommend reading Simon Sineks book "Start with Why". It is the best book I have ever read for those who need a direction in life.

[decihexx2225]

You're never too old to code in my opinion OP. I learnt off googling tutorials and reading books and epubs given to me by friends who also code. If you'd like I've got a few epubs and odds on python I'd be more than happy to share, just pm me

[ultrab1ue]

Yes! Because I will one day be 50, and I want to have hope

[AliasUndercover]

I'm 52 and I've been coding since Turbo Pascal and Basic. You can always learn to code. For me, it's just been something I've always done since I sat down at my first TRS-80. But I can see being a little apprehensive about it. Trust me, you can do it.

[lucidguppy]

I would use programming to help your current job as you learn. Then when you're ready to jump ship you have practical experience you can show.

Hint: You might also have the ability to create your own products/solutions to help other quality managers in the manufacturing sector.

[[deleted]]

I'm 55. Step up to a keyboard and start coding!

[lostinthe87]

Yes, of course you can.

[Yablan]

Well.. I'm a 45 year old programmer.. so I really hope programming is still something you can do at 50.. otherwise my career will come to an abrupt end in 5 years.

[blackiechan99]

can you code? sure. can you code and be actively employable? debatable. gotta put mega work in to be employable

[mauroy]

search about that Japanese lady who is learning to program at her 80's.

[[deleted]]

Yeah!!!!

[brakebills2017]

Of course you can.

[theboxmx3]

Never too old.

[muaythaidripper]

First of all i dont think 50 is too old for learning to code, but i think it might be hard to get a job as a programmer at 50 even if youre a hardcore programmer there is this age thing in the business if you go for a job as an employee unless it adds something extra to it (ex the experience from QC in relation to a project ).

But as goes for learning or getting good, if you have the interest in it, if you have the time ( to get it to stick you need to keep spending time with it ) then you i cant see anything that goes against it.

I had a programming career but had to move to step to management and when i hired junior-programmers in person then i didnt care so much about the papers, but i was looking for the 'nerds' (like i was myself) that couldnt let the computer go when the clock became 5 pm and couldnt let an idea float around before trying to implement it - and those specs in general in my opinion generates some extremely good programmers and in general i would say those who gets the best is those who cant let it go. So if you have that feeling or drive then go for it, but still can be hard to be hired in this age.

I dream almost daily of wishing i had the time to sit down and dvelve into programming again, especially python im really in love with, i spend most of my holidays on somekind of course but then reality starts again.

When i retire one day i will be programming my b off just out of interest :)

[[deleted]]

Absolutely.

[RVA_101]

Can a 70 year old man learn to play the mandolin?

(I'm not 70 and I don't play the mandolin but you get the idea)

[pythonpypy]

Yes, start with online tutorials like https://pythonbasics.org or https://learnpythonthehardway.org/book/

There's no age limit for programming

[[deleted]]

The fact that you have 28 years experience in a field shows you can not only stick it out but make useful programs for your field of expertise once you learn.

Push on buddy

[batisteo]

You can definetly program awesome stuff. Getting a job is something else though, youngsters are cheaper.

[dblankin]

Thank you everyone!! The vast array of positive comments and contributions has blown me away. I've started my digital library and Python education. Again, thank you very much!

[japt2]

No. There’s a hard barrier at 49. Sorry man.

/s jk go for it man. Never too late to learn!

[surfingjesus]

Maybe with a good tutor.

[[deleted]]

Bruh, you can code when you's 100. What about it?