At your age, I guess it is rather important what you have to offer besides your software development skills. Do you have experience working in teams, a track record with working with people, or extensive knowledge in an adjacent field, such as electronics, IT, or one of the other sciences? Or do you have extensive knowledge of certain safety/security/medical regulations?
Is there some specific area in software engineering that you are drawn to or some application are? There are many applications fields of software development and I think in some large fields it will not be worth trying to compete with junior developers.
I'm way older, but I had the impression that 30-35 was already too old for casual consideration for software development outside specific fields? Which is depressing as science PhD's enter industry at the 26-30 age range...
No, there are many of us with grey hair in the software industry.
42 is probably too old for the startup world, which is where the discussions on HN tend to focus, but that is really just one slice of the industry. There are a ton of jobs at larger non-tech companies, where ageism is not as much of a problem. It is slower-paced, lower-paid, more boring... and perfectly acceptable if all you are looking for is a solid stable job.
The bigger challenge is the "junior dev" problem. There is some harsh reality there. But you can probably fight through that if you look for software work in whatever industry you are coming from, so that your couple decades of prior experience is relevant to the work being done by any team you would join.
I’m not going to give you the BS “you can do an anything if you put your mind to it” answer that many are going to give you here.
If you are in your 40s and 50s and have the experience “you should” for your age, up to date on technology and have built a great network, the world is your oyster.
If none of that is the case, getting a job as a junior developer at any age is a shit show right now. Hell it’s a shit show for people with experience when every job opening gets hundreds of applications within the first day.
It’s never too late to learn something new, not even to start in software. Age can bring a different way of looking at problems, shaped by past experiences in different situations and environments.
The path can be tough at the beginning, but if you truly enjoy it, you’re not wasting your time, you’re investing in a new stage of your life.
And this is just my personal opinion: I believe a team should be as diverse as possible. The more different perspectives, the better. A 22-year-old junior doesn’t see things the same way as a 42-year-old junior, and both are valuable and perfectly compatible.
Age is not the main issue. I mean it may make it more difficult but you have a bigger challenge. "Making a move to Software Dev" sounds like you will be entry level in Software world which is really hard right now especially with AI etc.
So the question is "why you if I can hire a 23 year old with possibly more energy, less baggage (most likely they can work longer hours and not have family/kids to worry about etc). That's possibly ageism but when there is a choice b/w an entry level Software Dev who is 23 vs who is 42, who do you think will get priority ?
Now, if you can differentiate yourself where your age becomes a plus and not minus, then we are talking. For example, one can assume you have a lot of real world experience, you have worked in tough conditions with real customers (whatever industry). Can you use that to your advantage and make a better case ? Then you can do it.
It is absolutely a brutal job market for all software developers. Never seen anything like the current market. Seems like there is an oversupply of H1B's and recent graduates.
If Stanford Computer Science graduates aren't landing jobs.
And even 'AI Engineer' roles are hard to come by. I'd be wary.
Salaried software dev work is a waste of time. The juice ain't worth the squeeze and even FAANG-level comp and work conditions aren't what they used to be (and those were basically unique to the US - in Europe they were never particularly life-changing).
Software dev as a tool in your toolbox to fix business problems is a superpower and will actually earn you decent money.
(also, if you use software on your own then it doesn't matter how good you are or whether you conform to any given day's "best practices". Your client pays to get their problem solved, they don't care if it's solved by duct-tape and hot glue)
It's not literally the age that's the issue, it's just a correlation. Some employers want people they can squeeze more easily and get the most juice out of.
Younger people are more likely to accept orders without push back. Accept lower pay. Work 60+ hr/week for crunch time, etc.
Depends on the employer of course. Google employs an 80+ year old Ken Thompson.
I worked in tech but not coding. After age 40 I decided to change careers, I took a bootcamp and moved into coding.
Been happy ever since working / coding away.
I would keep in mind that a lot of software dev talk on the internet revolves around FAANG, and start ups. They get the most lip service but they're not the majority of the work / companies.
If you are content with an apartment (with roommates to start), used vehicles, packing lunch, and basic polo shirts/Ross dress shirts and being dev adjacent (QA, some sort of support role) you might meet those goals. If you want to live like a normal middle class adult and have interesting dev work it's going to be tough. I you can build off your current work/connections it could be different.
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[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 36.6 ms ] threadIs there some specific area in software engineering that you are drawn to or some application are? There are many applications fields of software development and I think in some large fields it will not be worth trying to compete with junior developers.
42 is probably too old for the startup world, which is where the discussions on HN tend to focus, but that is really just one slice of the industry. There are a ton of jobs at larger non-tech companies, where ageism is not as much of a problem. It is slower-paced, lower-paid, more boring... and perfectly acceptable if all you are looking for is a solid stable job.
The bigger challenge is the "junior dev" problem. There is some harsh reality there. But you can probably fight through that if you look for software work in whatever industry you are coming from, so that your couple decades of prior experience is relevant to the work being done by any team you would join.
If you are in your 40s and 50s and have the experience “you should” for your age, up to date on technology and have built a great network, the world is your oyster.
If none of that is the case, getting a job as a junior developer at any age is a shit show right now. Hell it’s a shit show for people with experience when every job opening gets hundreds of applications within the first day.
I think there is only 1 person on my team under 40.
The path can be tough at the beginning, but if you truly enjoy it, you’re not wasting your time, you’re investing in a new stage of your life.
And this is just my personal opinion: I believe a team should be as diverse as possible. The more different perspectives, the better. A 22-year-old junior doesn’t see things the same way as a 42-year-old junior, and both are valuable and perfectly compatible.
So the question is "why you if I can hire a 23 year old with possibly more energy, less baggage (most likely they can work longer hours and not have family/kids to worry about etc). That's possibly ageism but when there is a choice b/w an entry level Software Dev who is 23 vs who is 42, who do you think will get priority ?
Now, if you can differentiate yourself where your age becomes a plus and not minus, then we are talking. For example, one can assume you have a lot of real world experience, you have worked in tough conditions with real customers (whatever industry). Can you use that to your advantage and make a better case ? Then you can do it.
If Stanford Computer Science graduates aren't landing jobs.
And even 'AI Engineer' roles are hard to come by. I'd be wary.
Software dev as a tool in your toolbox to fix business problems is a superpower and will actually earn you decent money.
(also, if you use software on your own then it doesn't matter how good you are or whether you conform to any given day's "best practices". Your client pays to get their problem solved, they don't care if it's solved by duct-tape and hot glue)
I dream of never using one of these cursed dystopia machines again.
Run away from computers
Younger people are more likely to accept orders without push back. Accept lower pay. Work 60+ hr/week for crunch time, etc.
Depends on the employer of course. Google employs an 80+ year old Ken Thompson.
Been happy ever since working / coding away.
I would keep in mind that a lot of software dev talk on the internet revolves around FAANG, and start ups. They get the most lip service but they're not the majority of the work / companies.