Programming at 28, is it really possible to learn and get a job?

Question

IT education

Hello everybody!
Actually my question is this.
I am 28 years old and have never done programming before. I had a legal education, I went to study, because everyone around me said it was great, education is so universal, you can get a job wherever you want, well, I somehow didn’t seriously think about what I would like to do in life. The years of "study" flew by, served in the army, got a job in the city administration, but after a while I realized that it was not mine and it was all complete garbage, I was not interested in making incomprehensible reports that no one needed, writing stupid letters, which also especially no one are not needed, and there are no prospects if there are no good acquaintances from above. And at the thought that I will have to sit here until retirement (as many here do), I simply find horror, no, something needs to be changed.
And so I began to consciously think about what I would like to do in life. I tried to take pictures, and it didn’t pass and I quit for a couple of months, I didn’t like it. I tried to write texts, I quit, I didn’t like it. He wrote music, but even when he was a student, it didn’t work out badly, but after the army, interest disappeared.
And somehow I came across a book on html and css on Ozone, I immediately thought "yes, it's not very difficult", but still I'll try and download the electronic version from another site. In short, I was so drawn in, like nothing else before. For 6 months now I have been reading books, video courses, learning layout (so far it is problematic). I know well html, css, less. I don't study much JS.
But sometimes thoughts creep in, like "you are already 28 years old" it's too late, you should have studied at the university, etc.
I aspire to become a front-end developer. Please tell me whether it is possible to master this area yourself, take orders for freelancing, and, in the future, get a job. Who had a similar situation, who studied himself and what came of it.
Thank you!

Answer 1

perhaps this article will be useful to you, and the comments under it are even cooler than the article itself:
How to learn to program at the age of 30
ps in short - it’s real to learn and get a job, don’t delay the current. if you sit to study for a long time, the fuse can pass. Six months is the norm for layout, you have to go to interviews, test yourself.

Answer 2

started years at 39)). I continue)

Answer 3

go and do it

Answer 4

The biggest obstacle on any path is disbelief in one's own strength.
PS Started learning programming at the age of 31.

Answer 5

Jurisprudence is a truly multifaceted and comprehensive industry. Jurisprudence in IT is a quite demanded direction. This whole horde of online startups, it companies, owners of online resources every year needs more and more legal support (often even legal protection). Especially now, when every site owner with an order/registration form becomes legally responsible for the personal data of users. In the next 10-15 years, online will actively standardize and leave the spontaneous primitive stage of origin, legislation will increasingly take on this industry, and the need for competent lawyers will grow.
Now for development:
1. Web development is a profession for young people. After 30-35 years old, in order to stay in the stream, you must be:
Everyone else will face hellish competition from hungry youngsters (and every second student today is going to IT), or hellish competition from hungry Indians on freelance (which, by the way, will also collapse soon, because trump is going to ban outsourcing). In general, riveting unnecessary reports to anyone for a stable salary in a budgetary office will be remembered with nostalgia)) For details on age, see here and read the comments at the same time.
2. Regarding the layout and riveting of sites, read here . And to consolidate the effect, go to the freelance exchanges and look at least for today's number, how 27 applications from people with a huge rating and portfolio flock to penny orders in the "website development" section in the first 15 minutes.
3. Romance in development is really minuscule (again, if you do not take into account those same "egghead geeks"). I agree, it's fun to read the success stories of all sorts of Zuckerbergs and articles about the "wildly highly paid and highly demanded industry", but in fact 90% of the work is boring raking someone else's shitty code in dull offices. Here you can again catch nostalgia for reports))
And with the inevitable increase in competition (to expand the template - 8 million Russian schoolchildren took part in the Hour of Code campaign in 2016) and the standardization of the sphere, employers will have clear requirements for qualifications, certification, education of employees. And you don’t have it ...
In general, my advice is to improve your qualifications and move into IT on the profile of jurisprudence. I think I have argued enough.

Answer 6

You need to study every day!
Especially now, in such a rapidly changing world...
Learn javascript, don't spray on other languages ​​yet, at first js will be able to develop mobile , desktop , and web applications ( vuejs , reactjs , angular ), and all sorts of console utilities , as well as the server part, services, and more . Soon it will be generally possible to compile JS to binary code , and most of the latest versions of desktop and mobile browsers already know how to execute such code ( WebAssembly ).
In 5-10 years there will be more demand for javascript-errs who can write code for IoT devices.
Also, in blockchain technologies, smart contracts in most existing systems are programmed with javascript-like code .
In general, the scope of javascript will continue to grow, I think it will not be difficult to wedge into a niche that is interesting for you, especially if you are a lawyer, then programming smart contracts will be closer to you than to other programmers who are not versed in legal subtleties.

Answer 7

What to do if programming is already nauseating?
Here everything is said about it. All you need is determination, patience and hard work.
P.s. he came to programming at 25. The flight is normal.

Answer 8

I recommend going straight into those areas that will really grow, for example, in the development of mobile applications, simulators and other things.

Answer 9

No, it's not too late. I knew one "old man", he himself mastered (then...) Delphi, databases and made labs for students! And he also taught others the Assembler language ...) Incl. the main desire and motivation!

Answer 10

I know that TS has already resolved his issue. But perhaps this information will be useful to other beginners who will find this discussion in the search :)
I judge as a person who has an education in the humanities and who was able to retrain. It's not the most true way, but it's the practical way that worked . I think that technarity in this context is secondary compared to organizational issues that hit a person from the very first days after trying to change their profession.
1. In order to have the opportunity to study at almost 30 years old (and even at 25), you must have money.
By the way, investing in expensive courses for obum is somehow dumb. After all, taking into account the fact that a person studied and worked, and then it “hit” him in the head that it was all not his, we can assume that exactly the same can happen with programming.
Of course, there is Hexlet , which is basically available (currently $39/month) and won't break you. But, studying for 4-7 months, you can die of hunger not so much from what you spend on education, but from the fact that you do not earn anything. So, the financial issue must be resolved first.
2. As for me, the easiest way to close the financial issue is by working as a freelancer and by making typical websites on a well-known CMS. This area has the lowest entry threshold. And you make your own schedule. By doing the same type of projects along the pipeline, you can do the work quickly and engage in training.
3. Clients pay money. The easiest way to find clients is to write a couple of simple free extensions (modules) for a certain CMS and place them in a directory. At a minimum, there will be a bunch of people who want to get support and advice. But many of them will willingly pay for other work on the site. A nice bonus from developing extensions is immediate criticism from more experienced developers and feedback from users. These emotional jolts make you think about other people who will read your code and use it. It works much better than a dozen books on the subject with abstract reflections. There will be no such effect if you do one site per month for a single client.
I stated my position in more detail in a separate post " How to start learning to program websites"