Careers in Programming/Software Development

[Orchid1]

Long story short, have been considering a change in career and heading down the route of Programming/Software Development or similar. It's something I thought about going into when I was younger but did something different at Uni and therefore don't have any relevant qualifications.

Being 29 is it too late for me to even be thinking of such a thing? I realise it would probably entail going back to uni etc with all the added risks and costs associated, especially as I don't really have a good idea of what the job market is like for people with such skills.

Does anyone in this area have any knowledge/experience?

[Orchid1]

Hopeful bump

[Orchid1]

AAz01 said:

In 2012 I learned how to work with WordPress (easy to pick up, zillions of tutorials online) and taught myself PHP, which I didn't really know before as a .Net developer. I used these skills as a freelancer working purely from home on websites like PeoplePerHour to build responsive websites.

Edited by AAz01 on Friday 7th April 11:52

I have considered this as a way to learn more about it all, there's seems to be a steady demand for people with such skill on freelancing sites as you say so I reckon I could teach myself up to an acceptable level and maybe try out a few basic assignments at home to see how I get on with it.

[Orchid1]

SlidingSideways said:

What did you do at Uni? Some companies used to look favourably on Maths based courses when applying for entry/graduate level jobs (it's been a while since I was at that level though, so it may have changed).

Have you taught yourself any programming and got any personal projects you could demo to prospective employers?

I did a Legal subject at uni although I did do a semester of computing/programming in my first year (my uni used the American system of semesters and doing your major along with minor subjects in your first year) plus when I was at school I did a little bit of programming both in school and at home including creating little mini games so I do have a little experience of it.

As someone above mentioned i'll probably go down the self taught route just now (there's even apps that teach coding) and maybe look into doing some simple freelancing projects at home to see how I get on with it.

[Orchid1]

AW111 said:

In my experience, the most useful programmers are often those with some experience of what their software is supposed to do.
This may work to your advantage - what do you do for work at the moment?
I have mostly worked in the engineering field, and being able to communicate with the end user of the software is an important part
of the job.



ps There is plenty of work out there for those who can write good code even if they don't have much knowledge of the field their code is for, especially in larger teams.

I work in a job that involves looking at a lot of spreadsheets all day haha. This is what got me thinking about programming as i've started using alot of basic codes/formulas in my day to day work which reminded me of when I used to write programmes/create simple little games when I was at school. It's something I really should have kept going with but ended up doing something completely different instead.