[pneumatic1]

I was 29 when I got my first job writing code. Before that I was a wildland firefighter and then a carpenter. I taught myself to code at night over the course of 2 years. Got an MS in Data Science a few years after that. Now I’m doing software engineering, data engineering, and data science in a domain I’m super interested in. So it worked out really well. I’m pretty much right where I wanted to be when I wrote my first line of JavaScript at 27. My advice is to totally immerse yourself as much as possible in whatever field you’re trying to get into and start to think of yourself as someone who is already a part of that community.

[fm2606]

Oof, wildland ff. I've done a bit of that but on the flat ground in FL. I couldn't imagine doing that in the back country with hills and mountains. My old FD has sent strike teams out west, which is another thing I can't imagine - riding in a fire truck from FL to Colorado or California, and back.