Absolutely not.
22? Old?
Bahahaha. I’m still learning complex stuff and I’m double that.
Yo man this isn’t enders game
Logan’s run
Hmm… You got me curious, context?
Enders game is a book/movie about a future human civilitation that is under attack of an alien species. To ensure survival they train children as strategists because they take more risk and use unconventional tactics. They are basically saying “nobody requires you to be young here”.
The thing with computer science is that it’s always changing, so everyone has to keep learning it regardless of age or prior experience, or they’ll risk getting left behind.
I’m doing just fine on Java 5 thank you very much.
Not even remotely.
That’s how old I was when I started pursuing it seriously instead of just dabbling. Two decades and change later and it’s still a choice I don’t regret.
The basics are fairly straightforward and the field is wide, deep, and mutable enough that everyone’s always picking up new things anyway. The only thing that’ll make you different from your peers is the ratio of how many birthdays you’ve celebrated v. how much direct experience you have. Thankfully that metric is spread out far enough amongst CS folks that it’s only useful as a point of conversational amusement and has no bearing on one’s ability to do the actual work.
Nope, I’m almost 30 and just graduated BS of Computer Science after 7 years of on and off schooling.
Don’t ever, and I mean ever, let anyone tell you that you’re too old to try something new. If anyone ever does, know, deep in your heart, that person is insecure and afraid of being their authentic self. Go forth, try new things, learn new knowledge, find out you don’t like things, sometimes get frustrated, and discover the things that make life worth living for you. You will be so much happier if you set aside what anyone else will think of you and focus on “This interests me”
no, but at 23 you’d wish you started at 22
as the saying goes the best time to start was when you were 6 the second best time is now
The answer to is X years too old to start Y activity is almost always no.
There are some notable exceptions though. Like “Is 37 too old to start dating teenagers?”
Yup, that’ why I added ‘almost’.
You’re never too old to learn.
Where are you from? This is a strange sentiment from my perspective. I didn’t even know what I wanted to do when I was 22. But I had the privilege of growing up in a country that doesn’t burden youth with high interest university debt. I appreciate that in some countries you need to get a job as soon as you finish studying to pay loans etc. To answer your question specifically, no, 22 is not too old to start studying computer science.
I’m from Israel.
Where does the pressure to choose a career so early come from?
Societal pressure to “settle down” as young as possible. Due to the economy of course that has become a very unrealistic expectation.
Dude, most people in Israel start a degree around 22-24 in Israel. You’re not the only one who served 3 years in the military. Starting a degree earlier is almost exclusively for privileged people. If you can get accepted to a uni at 22, that’s actually really early - you’d be the youngest post-army person in class.
If you didn’t serve in the military, at least you’re not behind in academic terms.
edit: this isn’t even taking into account the perspective of age. The time you’ll have between finishing the degree and just being 40 is A LOT longer than it seems at 22. I’m 29, you have soooooooo much time. And on a second age perspective, even at 40 it’s not a bad idea because you can just do whatever you want.
TL;DR just go for it
That’s tough, I’m sorry you have to deal with that. I didn’t know what I wanted to do at 22. I’m grateful I spent time to work out what I was passionate about. I started working in tech when I was about nearly 30. My career has been fulfilling because it’s something I enjoy and I’m passionate about. Good luck mate
How did you get started with your career change? Earn a degree or some certs maybe?
Fuck no, do what you love and what calls to you. If you haven’t found anything yet, you need to broaden your horizons.
It’s much more cut and dry than most people think. All these questions have to do more with you and what you’re willing to do than the logistics. You’ll almost always be able to work logistics out eventually so focus on the you part to make sure your “vehicle” is suitable for the terrain
I’m in my late 40s and I just got a bachelor’s degree. I just started a masters program. It’s never too late.
Of course not, I didn’t get my degree until I was 32 (Army and general immaturity stopped me from going until I was 26)
I’ve now done the gamut from being a web dev to desktop apps to API development and currently a senior devops engineer. I’ve worked for big companies like Microsoft and small non-profits in the healthcare space.
I guess what I’m saying is you have decades ahead of you, fill it with the work you find interesting. Our field is ever changing and has so many niches and specialties. The work you start out doing will probably not be where you end up. Always be learning.
Nah. Graduated uni at 21. Became a teacher at 25. Doing my MSc (unrelated subject) this year to change careers at 39 (when I’ll graduate).
