I am 35 years old. Can I change my career to be a programmer?

In recent days, , An article about changing careers as a programmer in HN There was a heated discussion on . The authors Derek M. Jones He is a software engineer who has worked for more than ten years , Recently, he met a lot of older job seekers who want to switch to software development . Regarding this , He suggested that ： Choose niche technology , Avoid competing with young people . However, this view instantly attracted many programmers to speak and discuss .

Defects of popular technology

Jones My advice revolves around the culture of age discrimination , And how to use popular technologies in the software ecosystem to improve their work prospects .Jones Think , Software developers are in short supply in the market , But there is also age discrimination .

The consequence of the majority of young people is , They will be attracted by popular technologies . And often when these technologies have been popular for less than a decade , People's perception of them will experience popularity 、 Maturity and legacy （ That is, it is not popular ） Three stages .

Regarding this , Older job seekers can take advantage of this popular technology to attract young people , Turn to the minority （ That is, it has been popular , There is technical precipitation ） Things that are . Because the less popular , The less likely young people are to find a job , for example , maintain COBOL and FORTRAN Code （ Both are very niche ）.

Besides , The benefits of applying for niche technical jobs are not just a reduction in the number of job seekers , It also includes ：

• New technologies usually go through a period of rapid change , And keeping up with changes takes time and energy . And for people with families or other hobbies , Are they really willing to take the time to keep up with changes in their work ？Jones Take a negative attitude ;

• Systems that rely on niche technology have been around long enough to prove their worth , Sunk costs have been paid , They will continue to be used , Until something more cost-effective appears . in other words , Compared with systems based on popular technologies that have not yet proved their value , They have more job security .

Jones Express , Now there are many niche software development technologies . Software is considered unpopular simply because of the language it uses , Some of the more well-known languages include ：FORTRAN、COBOL、Pascal and BASIC（ In many forms ）, Lesser known languages include MUMPS And almost all mainframe related languages .

He thinks that , Unless you want to be with a group of enthusiasm 、 Cheap young people compete for jobs , Otherwise don't touch Rust、Go Or any popular language touted as the latest . Besides , Database direction is also very popular .

Last Jones Also mentioned , Testing and QA Has always been a very low-key area of work . These fields provide opportunities for mature job seekers to show their talents , To highlight their stability and reliability . Try to ask , Which company is willing to entrust a young person to decide whether the software is ready to be released to paying customers ？

Niche technology is easily eliminated

about Jones It is suggested that older job seekers should aim at minority technology when switching to software development , The netizen with the first hot comment @soneca Raised objections . He wrote ：

“ Based on my personal experience , I totally disagree with this proposal .2017 year ,37 At the age of, I began to study software development , Because I take the front line , The most popular framework at that time was React, So I focused on learning it . Interestingly , My first job used Ember, But then fewer and fewer people wanted to work with it , So the company decided to move to React. And now , I started another use Vue The job of , So I've been learning new things . Now , My income is 2017 My first job as a junior developer in 14 times , About my salary before I changed my career 6 times .”

Age is not a problem

about Jones Age discrimination in the software development culture mentioned , A name is @ Nick Netizens also proved with their own experience “ Never too old , Too old to learn ”, Age is not a problem .Nick say ：

“ I 59 year , Got... In Germany Clojure Internship in programming . When I was looking for a job , I didn't submit my resume , They just got their master's degree in bank law , Choosing to engage in programming is the result of careful consideration . When they asked me my age , I didn't lie , But they don't seem to care . I hope now 6 After months of internship , They can let me work part-time , Because I'm going to study for a master's degree in computer science and artificial intelligence . I don't like being unemployed and staying at home upsets my wife , So I hope to work again 15 To 20 year .”

Get ready for the job

Since the problem of age discrimination can be overcome , Learning popular technologies can also remain competitive , What should older job seekers who switch to software development do ？

Regarding this , A recruiter from a Canadian company @ Blaine Shared his suggestions , I hope I can give some interview references to the transfer ：

1. Write one or two small programs that can realize functions , Then stick them on GitHub On , So the interviewer can see your work . Although the interviewer doesn't care what it can achieve .

2. Preparing for an interview . Prepare questions you may be asked during the interview in advance , And prepare answers to at least some of these questions .

3. Know how to sell yourself . In fact, writing code is not the whole job , Job seekers should also have self-organization 、 The team cooperation 、 The challenge 、 Dealing with relationships 、 A series of vocational skills such as making plans .

4. Don't lie . Although I don't have much experience , But the interviewer wants you to admit that you're trying to change your career , And will make every effort to do a good job in the future .

5. Work will begin with maintaining existing applications . Although it's not as satisfying as starting a new project , But the reality is , Programming skills take time and experience . Unless the applicant can prove his strength , Otherwise, you can't be hired for an introductory course or a short training camp .