When is it too late to get into programming? | Hacker News Reader

When is it too late to get into programming?

2 pointsjohndenver8 comments

I'm 24 years old with a degree in business. I wasn't exposed to higher level math or programming until university and my interest in these subjects didn't really sink in until my senior year, after it was already too late in many respects.

I'm wondering at what age does HN think someone needs to have been exposed to an engineering/scientific field in order to have a realistic shot at making a meaningful contribution. I know that every situation is different and that generally it's best to try and make a living doing something you enjoy. Nevertheless, it seems that a lot of the most distinguished ideas come from individuals who started young, perhaps because the adolescent brain is more receptive and impressionable.

I believe Einstein said that if you don't make your contribution to science by age 30 then you never will. Maybe this is taken out of context, but I'd like to know where HN stands on the issue. Why is it that many profound scientific achievements come from people less than 30? And are there any notable exceptions to this rule?

24 is definitely not too late. I worked professionally in finance until I was 30 and followed my passion to be a coder. Programs like Thinkful.com are great to help u with a mentor to move things along (disclaimer: I'm a mentor on the site).

I saw an important key as a principal I took from a book called the Talent Code, you need to see programming s something you'd still be willing and interested to do when you're old. If you can see yourself as a coder for life you're going to put in the time, if it's just the next hobby interest for the next 6 months before you wanna do something else's you're going to struggle to justify to yourself why you should spend so much time learning to code.

Most people who are programming for a living do not intend to and will never make meaningful contributions to an engineering/scientific field.

It sounds like you might want to know when is it too late to get into computer science?

Agree, I think that's what OP meant. When is it too late to get into computer science?

I think it was Linus Pauling who had a method of moving between relatively related fields, so that by the time he had reached the level of expert understanding in one field he could move to the next and thus start over as a neophyte. Doing this he was able to be contributing at a meaningful level until late in life.

Pauling's experience thus suggests that it is not the age itself that makes one unproductive in the field, but the inability to see things in a new light that experience in the field gives you.

However if you are trying to learn a very complicated field without any of the basics you are probably not going to make it if you are doing it after 30 unless you are able to do without anything that people often get at that age - like relationships, families etc.

Thus again Pauling's way of doing it (if indeed I remember that it was Pauling correctly). You know the basics because you are an expert in a related field. Then you can enter the new field.

Not sure what related fields would make one a good jumping off spot for computer science contributions: math obviously, logical philosophy, linguistics maybe, other stuff (maybe even programming)?

just dive in. the water's fine. :) whether you're 24 or 94.

and besides, you shouldn't make life decisions based on the likelihood of whether or not you will win a nobel prize...

edit, one more thing: being a programmer and being a scientist are not necessarily the same thing. are you considering a research career in academia? then you should consider it -- you are 24, you can pretty much go any direction you want career-wise at the moment. but read up on the tradeoffs of doing a phd and going into academia -- there are definitely tradeoffs; comments here on HN as well as articles on chronicle.com and elsewhere.

refer to the following https://keithsawyer.wordpress.com/2016/11/22/are-you-too-old... which I just found on the front page. This would also explain Pauling's success, because he was really productive.

Whenever you accept that there's such a thing as "too late".

Never; I don't even know why it's a question.

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