Anyone else feel like they missed their calling in Programming?
Posted by Forward-Departure-16@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 59 comments
Just wondering if anyone in the same boat as me?!
I'm in my 40s, worked in admin job out of college (which i hated). Then ended up in e-commerce (mixture of sourcing, webstore manager and digital marketing) for last 10 years which I've generally enjoyed.
At the back of my mind, I always thought I'd love to be a web developer/ programmer. I always enjoyed fixing frontend problems, getting apps integrated properly and the design side (I started learning css about 10 years ago to help me with my job)
However, I didn't actually start learning "coding" properly until about 18 months ago (I'm half way through Odin project). Would have loved to do it quicker, but I have 2 young kids under 5 (one of them a newborn), so I don't have much spare time outside of work.
The whole "AI replacing coding" debate has been a bit demoralising, but then I realised I've been really enjoying coding and the Odin project that I may as well keep going with it. Even if it amounts to nothing career wise, I'll have enjoyed it anyway.
I do feel a bit sad though as when I'm coding/ learning I really feel like I'm doing what I should have been doing all along. And in many ways it seems obvious now. I always enjoyed (and was good at) languages and math in school. I ended up doing a science degree but in something that was very hard to get a job in (particularly as I graduated into the great recession)
I always enjoyed problem solving and enjoyed learning languages. So now I feel a "Duh of course" moment, especially as I've been working in a related job in ecommerce for 10 years.
Anyone else able to relate to that? Realised quite late on that programming/ software development was a great fit for you?
babaqewsawwwce@reddit
I started coding as a way to get through a challenging life time. It changed my outlook on things and I’m better for it. I’m now a tech director. Am I an elite typist in multiple libraries….no…..but I know good architecture and best practices. At the end of the day. You need to be efficient and someone after you needs to be able to read it and understand it (AI doesn’t understand human intention).
Don’t worry about the internet. Get good at programming. Build some stuff that’s useful. You’re more motivated to build when you can solve your own problem. Make an SQLite db and do your budget with it for a few months. Solve problems. Write bad code. Learn why your code sucks. Suck a little bit less next time. Repeat.
TheNewJoesus@reddit
I usually don’t like speaking on other’s behalf’s, but I have a former coworker in this boat. For reference, I’m a solution architect.
He’s really good at building things to spec. He’d be a great machinist if he went into that. He went into API development and is one of the most straightforward and delightful developers I’ve ever worked. It’s so great to have someone say “You’re asking me to do your job for you. Here’s the minimum requirements I need.” And he actually gives you the minimum requirements. Chefs kiss.
Rooster_Odd@reddit
What do you do as a solutions architect? What do your daily work responsibilities entail? I’m curious because I’ve seen it on job boards but never looked much into it.
jbldotexe@reddit
You basically schedule other people into meetings to tell them how their cost center does things; afterwards you use some technical buzzwords and diagram a high-level non-technical but technical-sounding explanation for something, anything that can help improve any of their processes.
You then sell that "solution" to upper management, whether it be directors or C-suites so that they can get credit for "Idea Generation" and "Pushing the Business Forward into the Future".
If you do it well and the IT Group directors like you because you bring them lots of fires to start and they get enough trophies for extinguishing them then they will keep you on the Payroll
In order to be a solutions architect you: - Go to school forever (Masters)
or
or
A semi-mix of both (Bachelors + lvl 2 in Analyst or Engi)
Rooster_Odd@reddit
Sounds like a great job!
harleyBose@reddit
40s here too, and i came at code from the e-commerce side, running a store, sourcing, marketing. that background is honestly a head start, not a handicap. you already understand the business reason a feature exists, which is the thing junior devs flail at for years.
what worked for me was to quit learning to code in the abstract and just automate the boring parts of the job i already had, like scripting a report i used to pull by hand. you learn way faster when the project actually matters to you, and you end up with a portfolio of real problems instead of tutorial clones. you're not behind, you've got domain knowledge a bootcamp grad would kill for.
mitsk2002@reddit
I'm in my 40s and feeling similar. It seems nowadays companies want architects instead of code monkeys. But then where does that leave entry or mid level developers? Not all developers can be architects. And it takes time to develop a niche skill/specialization. Feels like I missed the boat. I know things in tech are always changing. And I won't stop learning coding now (doing IBM's AI Fundamental's cert). But it just seems like an uphill battle.
Ke5han@reddit
I am so related OP, slightly different story to yours, I know I want to work with computer when I was 14, but I went to business school for my first degree 😅, and when I had my chance to go back to school again I got a degree in Math. There were these two times I could have got a degree in computing science or software engineering and I magicly skipped then all for different reasons.
Fast forward during COVID I started to learn python and went for a year continue education training in web development and landed a job as full stack developer and this is my 4th year working as a dev.
Ironically, I have two bachelors and a master but now I am making a living with a continue education certificate 😆, I fell I caught the train before a lot of things turning south, but there are times when i sit there quietly I still regret decisions I made when I was young.
AccomplishedCry8178@reddit
Go for it! Do whatever you want!
I’m 37 now and wanted to be a games developer when I was about 4. I ended up never really knowing how to pursue it because the lack of a field really when I was growing up this gradually changed to web dev so I did an IT BTEC(uk) at 16 and it was pretty much the most dull thing you could imagine just using excel over and over.
Roll on 20 years of being in the construction industry and being a hobbyist, now I’m about to start my second year of a comp science degree part time with 2 kids and a full time job, partner, mortgage etc.
Figured I can be dead in the next 50 years with a degree and an opportunity to do something I’ve been interested in or I can be dead in the next 50 years without that and without having done it. AI doesn’t change my interest.
SurpriseOk6927@reddit
the AI doom thing is way overblown. the best coders i know use AI to go faster not get replaced. what compounds is knowing what to build and why — thats the part that takes years. keep going with TOP its solid. the fact you actually enjoy coding is the real signal
skat_in_the_hat@reddit
To be fair though, we're telling it how to do it, but not so much micromanaging syntax. So we still make the architectural decisions, but i havent done more than correct some escaping, or remove an extra brace in... 6 months?
lulz85@reddit
Yeah, I wasn't good at job interviews nor did I really have connections when I graduated college so my career is barely alive and after this gig that I have and idk if I'll ever find work in this industry again.
OwnLunch2133@reddit
It was the early 80's, and got my first home computer, an 8 bit MSX, at 12. I learnt BASIC by myself, like many other kids at the time, and made some simple games. Later I went to uni to study maths, and learnt C (remember Borland C?): chained structures, pointers, recursion, etc. I dropped out and for a few years I was a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) admin on minimum wage, when Linux was for weirdos and "real" network admins used Windows NT. Got fed up, and became a truck driver. Sometimes I wonder where I would be now if I had stayed in IT.
Humble_Warthog9711@reddit
I got in earlier, and despite me usually being the sort of person to say things are pretty much the same/don't overstate the ease/etc...i know too many people with 10+ years experience and fairly successful careers in major companies that I would seriously consider whether they would be able to enter the industry in 2026.
CreativeEnergy98@reddit
When I was 23 years old, my boyfriend introduced me into web development. And I loved, still love.
But for years I was in and out (family and personal problems build along)
My worst fears were I was struggling to study on my own for nothing.
What if no one would hire me because I don't have a college degree? Would anyone take seriously a self learn with some online certificate and a portfolio since I heard even those who graduated from college have hard time to get hired.
Then AI came up. Is still worth learning if AI will do anything? WOULD I STUDY FOR NOTHING?
I am 27 years old now....I regret that I didn't study when I was 23 years old. Maybe after some time I would become a web dev.
Learn now even if you have doubts, try now so you won't be like me having regrets and a "what if" constantly.
Drumroll-PH@reddit
I can definitely see why you'd feel that way, but from what you've described, it sounds less like you missed your calling and more like you found it later than expected. The fact that you've consistently gravitated toward CSS, webstores, integrations, problem solving, and now enjoy working through coding challenges suggests the interest was always there, even if life and career circumstances took you in a different direction first. Honestly, one of the advantages you have now is that you're learning programming with a decade of real business and ecommerce experience behind you, which often makes it easier to build useful things than someone starting at 22 with no context.
koenka@reddit
Spent years on data and SAP, no formal education, even not a basic one (tbh).
Now 37, But living the dream, being carried by teams and departments. Working full time in Snowflake, coding solution that are even implemented corporate-wide.
If you love it, you're good at it and people are willing to pay, lfg, you can do it, its never too late.
EdiblePeasant@reddit
Yes, similar age, I wished I got more into it back in the 90's and early 2000s. Maybe there were limitations back then that would make it very difficult and unappealing for me, but I wished I tried more and knew everything I needed to get. I could have easily gone to Usenet for help on how to get started.
As it is, I only messed with one programming adjacent thing, a language for Interactive Fiction (text adventure). I think I enjoyed it. But maybe I could have done so much more, kept at it, and made things I could use and enjoy. And probably contribute to some stuff for others.
I had a programming phease going a few years ago, before AI, and just kinda stopped. But I'm trying to do it at least once a week. I think it's good for my brain.
Unlikely-Internal214@reddit
This is super interesting to hear. I work in the third sector, nothing major and quite low down the ladder, but I have two degrees and a lot of life experience and have recently felt underwhelmed in my job. I did a coding intro course during COVID and every so often I'm like, should I go back to that and take it seriously?! But I always wonder if I missed the boat.
But I guess it's never too late!
junglebunglerumble@reddit
There's a good chance if you actually did it as a career for the past two decades you'd kind of hate it by now. I enjoy programming as a hobby, but kind of dislike it when I have to do it for work, but everyone is different.
FloataciousHippo@reddit
I am 43 f and in this boat big time, although part of me thinks I didn’t have the self-belief to sit with and push through challenges back then like I have now.
I’m trying to focus on how it is better to have found a passion late than never at all. I’m also trying not to let the AI situation scare me off learning. There is value in learning things even if there is no guarantee of a job at the end.
gaMazing@reddit
I could have written this myself. Left one career after 20 years to have another as a software engineer.
HappyIrishman633210@reddit
I’m doing a masters in at 30 after I got kind of boosted from my non tech consulting role for not having tech skills in software proposals.
Personally my values don’t really align with a lot of tech companies but I think there’s a lot of room for automation and tooling in most excel jockey tasks, somewhat doing it to know my enemy as AI will play a major role in all careers going forward.
Constant-History-305@reddit
That applied math background is actually perfect for automation work. I used Qoest to help build some excel automation tools and they really understood the technical side.
HappyIrishman633210@reddit
My first role out of college was Infosys-AmEx where I built out an automation pipeline in Java selenium to test their third party risk assessment platform. Currently work in hospital procurement.
violetferns@reddit
No, you’re the only person to ever experience this feeling.
pepiks@reddit
I see somewhere suggestion - use programming in non programming job. I was webdeveloper - it if fun and very frustruate at the same time. Technology is rapid changing and if you code alone it is heaven. You have full control - what use, what avoid. The worst if stack is selected, but you hate it. I have selected IDE, stack and of course responsibilities. It was not fun start go inside huge framework with very limited time, spending time after work to learn to work, eating maximum 5 minutes to don't waste time...
When I code now for pleasure - I have a lot of time to spend. I can delay project when I need and I use them to make my work better done for example handling anoying papers. I save time, I add tools for others (web apps) with freedom.
I heard a lot fo hsitories about programming people which around 40+ go from IT to low paid, but less stressful job.
If you feel passion - follow it. Learn and think how monetarize it or simply do it as hobby without something specific in mind. I have fun with Go and Python. I mix them, use for different things and earn money easier doing the same job.
quietcodelife@reddit
came to this late myself -- switched from outdoor retail into software in my late 20s and spent way too long thinking the non-tech background was a liability.
the thing I did not expect was how much those years dealing with actual customers changed how I build things. you have a decade of knowing what people actually do versus what they say they will do, how they describe problems in ways that have nothing to do with the real problem, where they get frustrated in a workflow they can't articulate. most junior devs learn this slowly through painful user feedback cycles. you are starting with it.
keep going with TOP.
Krinkovic@reddit
I am only 35 but I am sortof the same. Always been a computer nerd so I took a programming course in high school but it didnt go great. That scared me off of it until I decided to try and learn it again on boot.dev like 2 years ago. Got really into it to the point i felt my job was holding me back too much, so last year I started a full time 5 year Computer Science and Engineering degree. So I will be 40 when I am done :P
_lepelaar_@reddit
Yep. It took me losing my job in the retail sector at 54 to discover that I loved coding. I have a degree in the humanities and another in the social/biological sciences, but like you was just finishing that latter degree when the great recession hit. Also like you, I’ve always loved problem solving. Job counseling after my layoff pointed me in the direction of IT, which had never been on my radar. Started coding (Java) and never looked back except to wish I’d figured this out earlier in my life. I started a great job as a Junior Full Stack Developer at 56, so really, it’s never too late.
SuspiciousFondant424@reddit
I once read a thread on the topic "where did you go from programming" and many people chose a job that was more related to physical labor. Someone moved to the village (like David Beckham), someone went to work in production, but more often people earned enough money to open their own craft and work there.
Shahid_bagwann@reddit
you probably did not miss it. e-commerce plus CSS plus integrations is already adjacent; Odin at your pace is fine with kids. I would keep building tiny work-related tools or pages so the learning compounds into proof instead of only course progress.
mxldevs@reddit
AI doomerism went from "why do we even need any engineers" to "how can we avoid paying more for AI than just hiring a human engineer" so who knows, maybe you will be just the right fit.
Zealousideal-Ebb-355@reddit
Nah you've got this backwards, the 10 years in e-commerce and marketing is the part most people learning to code would kill for. loads of devs can build clean little apps and have zero clue what's actually worth building or how to get a single person to use the thing. you already know the messy sales and marketing side, you're just bolting code onto it now. that combo is way rarer than another junior who can grind leetcode.
androgynyjoe@reddit
That's a really good point.
DoktorLuciferWong@reddit
I studied computer science, couldn't get a job in the industry, and "settled" for an IT job.
It's a local government job, so I can't complain about the work-life balance or benefits.
I would've liked to have an SWE career, but at this point (mid-30's), I'm not sure I want to gamble a stable occupation for one in an industry with rampant layoffs. I'd have to start leetcoding (or equivalent) again, just to potentially get the same result (low/no response)
offsecthro@reddit
> Even if it amounts to nothing career wise, I'll have enjoyed it anyway.
I started programming as a kid long before I realized it was a potential job. To me it was just "playing with computers", and later "hacking". The world is powered by software, and so much of the software we rely on was written by people who weren't working on these projects as their 9-5.
I realize there are larger social and economic factors at play here that influence people's behavior, but I really wish more people would get back into the mindset of coding for the fun of it vs. looking at it as a means to some financial end.
zugzwangister@reddit
Programming is fun.
Programming for other people starts to not be fun, especially when other people are deciding which problems to solve.
At some point, programming becomes tedious and it's better to move up the chain so you can better influence the problems being solved.
Enter AI, and I have the best of both worlds. I decide what problems to solve, and now I can determine exactly how to solve them. Programming is fun again, but so is leading the way on how to identify the problems.
Dazzling_Salt_8743@reddit
I'm also in my 40's. Always worked in Tech in a Senior Support Role. Retail Business. I'm doing a Full Stack Training Course since I always wanted to learn programming. Now with AI it helps a bit to speed things up. I do not use AI in the course, I try to understand for eg Javascript. Then will use AI where needed. Will probably not do a major career change but I will have some skills that who knows where it might lead to.
Fit-Argument-5060@reddit
There are smaller places you can work that aren’t affected , like a small manufacturing shop that needs someone to run their ERP system
Kwith@reddit
I'm 43 and I started getting back into coding about two years ago. Don't just throw your hands up saying "well, its too late for me!", just remember, you're ONLY in your 40s. It's not like you're going to kick the bucket tomorrow. You have a long time ahead of you yet, so why not make the most of it?
Don't be the person who thinks "well, I'm stuck in my ways" or "you can't teach an old dog new tricks", rubbish! That's how you keep your mind active, learning new things. I've got a 16 year old kid myself, and I can assure you, as the kids get older, your free time becomes more available as they become more independent.
So take whatever free time you can, but just enjoy the little ones while they are little because as they get older you will miss them being little. You have LOTS of time friend, so enjoy it!
LeaderAtLeading@reddit
Not too late. Plenty of devs started in their 40s. Build one small thing first.
crawlpatterns@reddit
oh i totally get that feeling, ive been in a different field for years and only started coding recently. its never too late tho, the joy of building stuff makes it worth it. juggling work and kids is tough but every bit you learn counts. keep at it, youll get there and enjoy the ride.
OrangeBallOfGoats@reddit
This is unbelieveably relatable.... did I write this?
dyslechtchitect@reddit
Same boat. There's no point looking back with regret. You had to go where you went to get where you are. That's just how life works. Now you know what you love doing, so make the most of it. Let it be fun, let it be exciting. Don't let thoughts about what could have been ruin what is. Those alternate paths only exist in your imagination. What matters is what's in front of you now.
Mell-Silver-20@reddit
You're definitely not alone. A lot of people discover what truly fits them later than expected, and the skills you've built along the way rarely go to waste. Sometimes the "wrong path" is just part of figuring out the right one.
i_own_5_cats@reddit
started seriously coding in my late 30s after wasting years in random office roles so yeah i get it big time the “duh of course” moment is real but if you enjoy it now that still counts
AskYouSee@reddit
I can relate. Sometimes you find the thing that fits you later in life and suddenly a lot of your past interests start making sense. Better late than never.
Thick-Panic6683@reddit
It's never too late, you are doing fine and there are always opportunities.
ibrown39@reddit
Nah mate, get it. The people who are loudest about AI replacing devs are:
What AI has done for me and many others (though, I'm one guy and can only really speak for me): - Made inline autocomplete really nice...half the time (I turn that shi off a lot tho as it can threw off my train of thought a lot). - Made my tolerance for Stack Overflow snark zero. Personalized examples are cool but I actually find even a lot of exploratory advice and learning using just AI as counterproductive. It's massively trained to be hyper OOP-centric (which is fine if that's the appropriate paradigm I guess) and etc. but worse -- it may really be trained on specific implementation really well and not be suited at all for giving you an actually broad, useful, let alone accurate range of suggestions and solutions for the problem at hand. - I'll ask a sort survey question, What's the best, most professional, and/or (they aren't the same necessarily the same thing) optimized way of doing xyz and it will spit out only what it can (aka what it was most weighted towards.
I'm all for using and maximizing one's use of, and accessibility, of resources but never over actually being a productive, proactive, * continuously learning* individual.
owp4dd1w5a0a@reddit
I’ve felt this way about chemistry because I shifted out of my chemistry major to do computer engineering.
I’ve felt this way about psychology because when I was leaving chemistry psychology was my other major interest at the time when I ultimately chose computer engineering instead.
For me, if I have a strong interest and then for whatever reason don’t choose it, it can feel like a missed opportunity. However, I don’t think there’s such a thing as a “calling”. I think we have talents and interests and then things that are both and when they align it can be amazing and you can do great things. And a big part of alignment is the circumstances and environment facilitating you being able to engage heavily with it.
But there’s no such thing as “lost time” or “wasted time” because no matter how you spent the time, you learned something, whatever you did with your time impacted you, and if you go make to the moment of choice with the exact same knowledge and way of thinking you’d be very likely to have made the exact same decision.
Enjoy the journey, mate, and don’t judge it.
Aromatic_File_5256@reddit
I am on a similar boat with the added detail that I know studying would be a lot easier if I started a lot earlier at my pace. Because I am studying now there are several reasons why I feel like time is against me. That along the threat of ai has made it extra hard to relax and get into learning mode instead of "outcome dependence" mode
tisa_tech@reddit
Career changes are more common in tech than people think. Your background in e-commerce, digital marketing, and problem-solving likely gives you a unique perspective as a developer. The important part isn't when you started—it's that you've found something you genuinely enjoy and are committed to learning. Keep building and stay consistent........
dvanha@reddit
I was a drop out and became cloud developer. These days I'm more focused on designing things.
Writing the code itself doesn't matter. We have AI assistance and even when we didn't, on the day-to-day you end up writing in languages you didn't even know existed.
It's the fundamentals like problem solving skills that matter; the rest is mostly Googlable.
Shepsauce@reddit
I’m too functional at my job, I never get called
Terrible_Mix5187@reddit
I'm a HS social studies teacher who missed out on the '90s tech bubble because I was in grad school. I've dabbled in front end/ui/graphics stuff for decades as a hobby.
A month ago, I applied for a graduate program that will get me credentials to teach CS in high school. I missed out on the various tech booms as a career, but it's still worth pursuing
PortalRat90@reddit
I’m 54 and feel the same. I started back after I discovered ESP32 and all the projects and problems I could solve. AI has helped me learn by the mistakes IT makes.
InternationalSky9925@reddit
That’s funny because I feel like I’ve missed the boat on digital marketing. It seems like a creative field, and I understand that there’s still opportunities there, but that’s also being heavily integrated with AI these days, right? Maybe you should learn to program in the context of marketing analytics, since you have a ton of domain experience in that area? It’s good that you enjoy what you’re doing – I think that’s the most important thing.
Dissentient@reddit
I was good at math and liked computers from childhood, so I took programming courses in middle school got a software engineering degree, since programming was the obvious highest paid job I have the aptitude for.
I've been doing it full time for 10 years at this point. While I had fun in college, and working on my own projects in my free time is satisfying, I hated writing jobslop from the first day on the job and throughout my entire career.
So I generally recommend people to do it for the money, but don't expect it to be fun.