[mattbrewsbytes]

Outside of cult-like SV, you'll be fine.

There are tons of companies that need programmers to solve problems. If you have a base understanding already in a field, work towards programming things in that field. Having deep knowledge of a field can help you.

You didn't give much info about your background. If you can use an existing job to start doing programming, do it. If you are an office worker and use Excel for nearly anything, that can also likely be solved as a CRUD web application. Do it on your own time if your employer won't allow work time on it. Also look into automation of things you or co-workers do.

Generally speaking, I would say outside of careers requiring extreme amounts of education/certification (medical doctors, rocket scientists) you can generally switch careers from anything to anything. The advantage with programming is you can learn 100% of it online and you don't need a degree to enter the field.

[satysin]

> Outside of cult-like SV, you'll be fine.

This. I know several people who switched from some non-tech career to development in their late 30s/early 40s. All of them are still working as developers now around a decade later and all very happy they made the switch rather than writing themselves off as "too old".

Will it be harder than when you were 20? Well yeah. Just like any career change after around 25 or so is harder than fresh out of university. Doesn't mean you can't or shouldn't do it though. Not much in life worth doing is easy imho.

Decide what you're interested in, look at what you need to learn, learn it and build up a portfolio of your work. Perhaps get involved in some open source projects if there are any that catch your eye, or start your own open source project.

Once you have built up some confidence and a demonstration of your work apply for some positions. I highly advise you brush up on your soft skills as well as your tech skills if you are not used to "selling yourself".

[dpweb]

Absolutely can be done. I think there’s a kind of brain well suited to it cause some people just seem to ‘get it’ and some don’t. Don’t worry about that tho I’ve worked with many people that don’t fully get it and remain employed. Worth trying if you feel it! Don’t let anyone make you believe you can’t do something if your heart is in it.

[david38]

What do you mean outside?

I live in SV and it’s absolutely possible here. I see it happen on the regular.

[mattbrewsbytes]

From what I hear and read there is a bit of ageism there. Good to hear it is possible there too.