deltateam:


What kind of childish question is this?

Is there anything one can't learn in this life given dedication and interest?

Obasanjo went to open university at what age again? 70? Not to talk of a skill that can be learnt outside the university.

You don’t have to insult him to make your point.

Don’t be stvpid!

Me i am interested in the web but i don't know what to even venture into at the moment.
Could be due to limited resources though.

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

Someone suggested java and c++. I'm really tired of all these surface-shiny languages like JScript with its various frameworks.

I still with java and Python. I just keep learning but don't know where to apply for now, but I keep learning. I'm just a NEPA guy.

Here's the book is use for java by Daniel Liang: http://gen.lib.rus.ec/search.php?&req=Daniel+Liang+&phrase=1&view=simple&column=def&sort=year&sortmode=DESC

Apart from pdfdrive.com shared above, gen.lib.rus.ec is another monster for ebooks.

It's never late to go into programming. Learnt that from quora.com

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

Yes you can but you must be willing to learn and work and ask questions on nairaland programming section when things go wrong. I will advise you learn JavaScript as it is the direction of the future. If you are targeting application development (web and mobile) learn JavaScript. If you are targeting networking, data science and cybersecurity learn Python.

mikezuruki:


You don’t have to insult him to make your point.

Apologies. I didn't mean it as an insult

GrantCashel:

I started out with php and java.
It's was nice then showing off your latest android app(with help from stack overflow) and feeling like the next zuckerberg by building an fb clone.
Every guy in my lodge(at uni) knew laravel, but you'd search the whole campus to find someone who could implement a crude version of PageRank.
Of course you know it takes a great deal of theoretical cs to architect high performing software, and thats where the money is.
For me, getting into web dev without knowing the underlying theory would be a waste of your time......at least it was for me.

You did php and java and you are complaining ,,
There is money every where, it depends on where you find your self bro,,,
It also depends on what is trending, php is outdated,
There are trending web techonologies around,
Python, javascript and it libraries , sql ,mongo, kotlin, etc

mikezuruki:


You don’t have to insult him to make your point.

Don’t be stvpid!

And then you insulted him in the process of making your own point

OP, you can achieve whatever you put your mind to.

There is no age restriction to skills acquisition, learning and growth... Go for it! Success will come with your commitment.

GrantCashel:
I ve taken the most unconventional approach to learning programming.
Being unserious in secondary school, it affected my progress in 2018.
You need to settle any problem you have with math if you dont want any issues. Google pdfdrive.com and download in this order developmental math for college students, college algebra and trigonometry, linear algebra, classical geometry, calculus, advanced calculus, vector calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations. If you want to avoid begging to build websites on nairaland, avoid web development, android or any shiny applications until you're theoretically grounded.

By the time he is through with all that maths he will be ready to face his maker

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

Dont just jump into it because of what you heard.
You have to ask yourself,
1. Im i a tech enthisiast?
2. Do i derive joy in staying in front of a laptop/computer for the whole day
3, do i love solving technical problems
4. Am i good in handling system related issues ,,

If your answer is yes, then you can go ahead

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

You can if you have the passion. Choose a stack and dedicate 9 months. You can sign up for programs like Andela Learning Community, Hng, and others. They help you interact with other programmers.

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

Well, I will give you an honest opinion in the optimistic context.

While many say "sure you can", at that age the truth is its relative to a lot of factors. I don't want to discourage you cos they right, you can achieve anything if you true to your goals but am the type that like to be realistic and true to my self. Not that its impossible, its just that how prepared are you mentally for the task ahead considering your antecedence.

You need to be true to yourself. Many don't understand the concept of programming as it is multifaceted on its own. The are many types of programming languages out there. So depending on what you are going for will also determine whether you can cope or not.

Also there are different aspects of programming. Basically, there is the frontend and a backend side of programming. The latter requires more in depth knowledge on programming logics than the frontend side of it. Back end is more db related and your intuition level and logical reasoning must be spot on. You must be a good analyst and deep thinker to survive that end. Also to that end, you understand some core basic machine language, then how storage is being handled. So depending which side you want to go, it determines how deep you can go. Even the front end isn't a walk in the park but you will survive at your age.

That brings us to the question about your history is quantitative analysis. How good is your reading and reasoning skills? Cos programmers are thinkers and they must be able to interprete their thoughts in logical steps to achieve desired results. The phone we use, just imagine how deep people think to program a phone just to give us joy. So its serious business with 247 dedication.

That leads to the final question, what's your social life like cos I will tell you one truth, if you are a faaji person, a baller who is very active in social life, I suggest you forget programming cos most programmers are solitary folks whose nature doesn't go with a faaji person. As a thinker, you probably spend more time quietly and indoors. You probably be walking with pen and notepad everywhere. Just look at zuckerberg, his fashion sense is zero, not because he doesn't have the money, he just doesn't have the time to look good.

With all that being discussed, if you being honest with yourself, you will know what yo do.

It's possible depends on your seriousness. Javascript, Python and a database, maybe SQL or MongoDB. Javascript is a bit easy and can introduce you to the world of programming. It's not really about the language but understanding the basic concept of OOP is very important. Someone who knows Java can learn Python within one month. The same concept but a few syntax changes.
Phone application development is a very hot cake now.

Yes you can, I suggest you take CS50 from edx firstly.

There is no age limit to education,so I believe u can make an impact.afterall,my roommate@the law school was 64years old,he passed the bar exams and hes active in law practice.just make hardwork, commitment, dedication and discipline ur watchword.

Anonime1105:


I get your point but
You should understand that not every programmer wants to build the next world class Operating system or develop a new Programming language, game etc

@OP yes you can, but you need dedication and consistency.
The reason you want to learn programming should be your motivating factor, it would guild you on the language to start with

I can bet u, the motivating factor for many is money, and they tend to miss how demanding it could be. A programmer has no life, as u r always on ur system 24/7, not minding the fact that there are several computer High level language u need to learn.
My candid advice is, if ur motive is sharp sharp money, bros programming is not for u. You can start with SQL or Python.

If ivartheboneless hotoro could do it@ 50,you can.

mcqwerty:
Hello Friend,

I advice you as a Programmer doing Website Design & Software development and not a Website designer.

I am also assuming you said "Programming" as a career switch and not website design.

If family or girlfriend is not in the way, go to a good computer college and enroll for C++ & Java programming or Python. You can even write oracle Java certification later on to boost your career.

To succeed in anything, you will need a considerable amount of time learning, practice and internalising. You will be patient while learning and honing your skills.

Don't waste time with YouTube or online coding schools. It's for those that already know their way around coding.

Do not go for HTML5, css and JavaScript lessons. Do not go for new and shiny stuffs like Js and the likes. You can add those later when you have mastered Core programming languages.

Web Design is not real career. Don't come to be begging for website design on Nairaland.com like a good number of us.

Take this advice from a 39yo man like you and you will not regret it.

Cheers.

Kindly suggest good computer programming colleges, thanks

bet9ja:
My candid advice, first determine your aspired carrier, Ask yourself if you want to be a Front-end developer, Back-end developer, Full- stack Engr, Mobile app developer and so on. Your decision will assist you to follow the right path and also choose the right technology to learn.


Who I am.

Full Stack Engineer with over 4 years experience practicing in South Africa.
www.olumide.co.za

Thank you for this comment...I also am in my mid 40's and want to go into programming ..any other advice/input will be highly appreciated.thank you once again

If you can Think it, you can achieve it.

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

Hmmmmm. The same programming I was running from last year.

Make I go dust my laptop.

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

Programming is not for the faint hearted o!!!
Programming is not theory that you can memorize, it takes practice practice, tears of frustration, loads of self doubt, spending of cash for online courses or bootcamps, fuel, internet connection etc.

You see that your son or daughter, once you start coding, you would beat the heck out of them cause it frustrates most times, you become antisocial because your brain is still trying to figure out why the simple 4 lines of code you learnt on Udemy didn't work.

The main problem begins when you start understanding the basis e.g. loops, for, while, etc. When it comes to implement your knowledge, you would start to understand how difficult this field is. Programming is very hard bro, although the joy that comes from being decent is immesurable.

At 40 it's kinda late o, except you are very good in mathematics or come from a CS background.

Frontend development, backend, Fullstack, machine learning etc no be beans o. As a Frontend developer with proficiency in JavaScript REACT framework, I practice for 4-7 hrs daily and it's not enough. When I became good at managing the state with Hooks and Normal OOP such as this.setState(), REDUX came out, you start hearing Actions, reducers and other terminologies that make you regret ever threading this career path.

Ask yourself, can I stomach this at 40? Can you sit down for 8-10 hrs watching tutorials and debugging your useless apps? Can you pass a programming job interview that requires algorithms? Can you? Can you build an enterprise grade app in 24hrs just to pass an interview for a job that pays 100k? Remember that those CS, CS engineering, mechanical engineering students are all gunning for the same job like you. They would even beat you blue black at the interview and request for smaller pay, because they love coding and want that experience.

Wishing you all the best in your endeavor.

Give it a try, if you discover that it's not making sense in 6months, move to something else, everyone cannot be a programmer

romeo411:
I honestly want to switch to programming as in carrier change, considering that I am 40, can I still make it giving every input I put in.

Yes you can. Provided you want to practice it for the next 5 to 10 years.

Anyone can learn programming in a few weeks/months. But it will take months/years to be good at it.

You need a lot of hours to build up, fix bugs and improve your codes to become good.

Yes you can switch at 40. And yes you can turn it to a new career.

GrantCashel:
I ve taken the most unconventional approach to learning programming.
Being unserious in secondary school, it affected my progress in 2018.
You need to settle any problem you have with math if you dont want any issues. Google pdfdrive.com and download in this order developmental math for college students, college algebra and trigonometry, linear algebra, classical geometry, calculus, advanced calculus, vector calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations. If you want to avoid begging to build websites on nairaland, avoid web development, android or any shiny applications until you're theoretically grounded.

In your experience, what have you programmed that required all this maths. Or any maths at all?

saajus:
It's possible depends on your seriousness. Javascript, Python and a database, maybe SQL or MongoDB. Javascript is a bit easy and can introduce you to the world of programming. It's not really about the language but understanding the basic concept of OOP is very important. Someone who knows Java can learn Python within one month. The same concept but a few syntax changes.
Phone application development is a very hot cake now.

Can someone proficient in Python( grounded in its Ds and Algorithm) also learn Java within a month.

I get you clear but many may not understand where you were driving at. Many delved into software development because of the successes of renown platform owners etc and looked to becoming one. In doing this, they get distracted a lot and lose focus at the outset due to the many technologies out there. Some will say learn Laravel, others Java or React, NodesJS, Android, Swift etc. Focus is key

GrantCashel:

I started out with php and java.
It's was nice then showing off your latest android app(with help from stack overflow) and feeling like the next zuckerberg by building an fb clone.
Every guy in my lodge(at uni) knew laravel, but you'd search the whole campus to find someone who could implement a crude version of PageRank.
Of course you know it takes a great deal of theoretical cs to architect high performing software, and thats where the money is.
For me, getting into web dev without knowing the underlying theory would be a waste of your time......at least it was for me.

GrantCashel:
I ve taken the most unconventional approach to learning programming.
Being unserious in secondary school, it affected my progress in 2018.
You need to settle any problem you have with math if you dont want any issues. Google pdfdrive.com and download in this order developmental math for college students, college algebra and trigonometry, linear algebra, classical geometry, calculus, advanced calculus, vector calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations. If you want to avoid begging to build websites on nairaland, avoid web development, android or any shiny applications until you're theoretically grounded.

You really don't know what you're saying

Sure you can, infact you can even be an expert in it

ThreeBlackBird:


Unfortunately, no one wants to tell him this truth. He'll end up struggling all through the rest of his career except he just want to do it for the fun of it. Even at my age, I'm sad I didn't start earlier when I was in secondary school. I would have gone far.

And he may soon realize the hard way