Ask HN: Starting a Career in Programming at 61?
by wofo on Hacker News.
Yesterday I had a conversation with my dad (61), in which he asked me whether it made sense to start programming professionally at his age. It is kind of a crazy idea, but I promised him I would ask my “hacker friends” about it, so here I am 😉 A bit more context, in case you are interested: he has worked as an executive at multiple companies in the past decades (CEO, CCO, CFO). As he grows older, he has noticed it becomes increasingly difficult to find work, even though he would love to continue working for the years to come. I think he feels inspired by seeing me thrive as a contractor, with access to a global marketplace and seemingly endless working opportunities. He learned to program when he was a student, probably Pascal or Basic, but as far as I know he has never needed to use that skill in his professional life (though I assume his excel-fu is excellent, because that is the preferred “programming language” in a business environment). I have no idea what to advise him, so I’m curious to hear your thoughts. Maybe I will even send him the link to this page so he can read along!