to retrain as a web developer at 50?

[beastlyslumber]

Inspired by another thread in which there's lots of discussion about how in-demand developers are at the moment, I started doing a little research to see if it's the sort of thing I might be interested in, and I am! But I'm 50, have worked in education for most of my career and I'm worried about how long the training might take and what my prospects might be as an older female in this field. Can anyone advise?

Learn how to be a wordpress developer. It’s fairly easy and you can start your own business offering cheap websites. Software development is a young persons game but simple websites arent eg a website for a local plasterer, a new coffee shop, a local private dentist. All small businesses who don’t want to pay thousands for a 4 page website.

Wordpress is the easiest framework to learn (its a cms which means your client can update their own website rather than you having to do it for them in the raw code/html).

Feel free to message me for advice. I am a freelance web developer. Although if you’re looking to make a lot of money then you won’t do it this way.

You could ask for a web agency to take you on as an apprentice but everyone will be at least half your age.

Definitely have a go - there are a few organisations aiming to get more of us women in to these roles.
codefirstgirls.com/

techmums.co/

sueblack.co.uk/

I am 59 and work in IT. We are out there!

I’m not a developer but work in a very technical role, which does involve writing different types of code among other things. It is true that many of us go into project delivery or management roles but I never wanted to - I love the technical work and the field I work in has great depth and really allows you to build layers of knowledge, there is always something new to learn and I find it fascinating.

I am certainly far from being alone, there are a few of us women
where I work, some older than me. We could do with a few more though (a lot more).

We pay our interns around 40k which raises to near 50k after a year.
I do the hiring and I would actively want older developers and also women. It makes me very happy when we get applications from either.

Do it. Plus web development is not rocket science. It's something that's learnable on the job (as opposed to more hard programming disciplines). I would recommend getting Python under your belt and you can do Udemy courses for this or even find them on EdX.

OP please could you give details of the initial thread that you read where you mention :

Inspired by another thread in which there's lots of discussion about how in-demand developers are at the moment.

Would like to read thanks

Someone I know recommended School of Code for a four week bootcamp, I believe it’s free.

@BABSYA

It’s this one;

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4522777-Hired-a-disabled-woman-in-lockdown-who-I-now-have-to-fire

I say go for it! I'm younger than you, but I spent the last 18 months learning how to code and got my first job as a developer a couple of months ago earning over 40k. I live in the middle of nowhere and work fully remotely. You don't need any qualifications, but you will need a portfolio, which will give you the experience of building things by yourself and also allow you to show employers what you can do and talk about how you did it.

I absolutely adore my job, I've never enjoyed working before and I'm learning so much every day. If you start coding and find you enjoy it, I wouldn't hesitate to retrain in your position.

Anyone thinking of doing it - do it!!! I've been developing websites since I was about 12. It's really not hard to learn! I don't do it any more as I don't have the paitence for it commercially but still do it for friends. However you will always find anyone that's ever worked with a developer that they can be the most flaky people on the planet! The skills required to develop proper websites sites faded away and was replaced by people who can edit Content Management Systems rather than actually code/develop (they are lousy even at that because they can't manage their time or client expectations). Because of this, you find a lot of Gen Zs who they are a hot shot coders and don't have the skills or even the aptitude to deliver.

I think there is a huge gap in the market for business owners in their 30s-70s looking for mature people to develop sites for them on a freelance basis! I get asked by people all the time if I can help or know anyone.

I ran a team of web developers before we moved to mobile and enterprise and the clients that gave me the most stress were Millennials and Gen Z who thought they had the next Facebook with a £3k budget and zero experiance. Most had the nerve of asking my company to donate a years worth of our lives for 5% of their next big pie in the sky idea! However, loved working with seasoned business owners who had been stung by egotistical Gen Z developers who didn't even know how to communicate effectively and would leave their projects half finished.

It's not all about learning code, it's about just understanding it. Plugins and modules do all the hard work and freely avaible. You just need to know which ones to choose and how to customise them. It's not about technology it's about understanding the human element to a design. I think if you could learn Wordpress or Webflow, there is plenty of freelance web development work from business people who would love to work with someone that looks, sounds and acts more like them.

Thank you

I work in tech and I’m 40+, but like others I don’t code anymore and instead lead teams and projects. You will need to be willing to work up from junior level where most of the other juniors will be very young. It’s fast paced and intensive technical work but I find it very rewarding.

I would say go for it, as long as you are prepared to be working with peers who are much younger than you. People 40+ are likely to be senior devs or management.

I would look at the less sexy options because you’ve got more chance of breaking in, Data architects are commanding £150,000 a year at the moment. Analysts around £50,000
What’s the saying, if you do the work that nobody else wants to do your reap the rewards that nobody else gets.

That may well be a quote from Tommy Shelby sorry.

But if you’re gonna do DevOps, C sharp is where we’re at and.net

@BestIsWest

Definitely have a go - there are a few organisations aiming to get more of us women in to these roles. codefirstgirls.com/

techmums.co/

sueblack.co.uk/

I am 59 and work in IT. We are out there!

I’m not a developer but work in a very technical role, which does involve writing different types of code among other things. It is true that many of us go into project delivery or management roles but I never wanted to - I love the technical work and the field I work in has great depth and really allows you to build layers of knowledge, there is always something new to learn and I find it fascinating.

I am certainly far from being alone, there are a few of us women
where I work, some older than me. We could do with a few more though (a lot more).

Jumping on to say I MASSIVELY recommend CodeFirstGirls' career switcher course - 8 weeks, 1 night a week for 2 hours on Zoom and then homework and a final project. It was the nicest, most supportive learning environment I've ever had!

I did the web development one recently and absolutely loved it. I'd do the freecodecamp HTML & CSS sections first to give yourself a basic grounding but you don't need to - the career switcher course is designed for complete beginners.

Also, those who are in the industry - I've love to know what level of portfolio/experience you expect for junior level roles? I'm learning a bit of everything and playing around with things at the moment, making various bits, but a bit stuck on what kind of thing I 'should' be building for my portfolio!

CodeFirstGirls have employér sponsored program and a good hiring rate.

Hello I came on here to also say code first girls.

They have career switcher courses which are sponsored by big companies and you can apply and get a sponsorship for free.

I just completed the SQL and data course, jumped on with a project (which is very important when learning in my eyes) and made some friends. They give interview tips and lots of support too. Best things I've done this year, and since I put it on my CV I have been scouted by companies looking for someone with the skill.

I start the python one next week and I'm so excited for it.

They also do nanodegrees which you can apply for 13 week evening course which are sponsored and most have entry jobs at the end of it with the sponsoring company.

Yep LegMeChicken - I'm hoping now I've done their shorter course, with some practice and building a bit of a portfolio, by the time I am looking to properly switch career early next year I can get onto their Nanodegree, which has sponsored places and apparently a decent hiring rate at the end with some good companies.

Oh and they do a web development one

Web companies tend to be run by young single men who aren’t very accommodating towards older people, women in general, or people with kids and commitments which mean they can’t do drinks after work or team building at weekends etc. I’ve also found that the fact these companies are mostly run by young men means they can be very discriminatory and they don’t have the maturity to understand people’s legal rights or even common decency. That’s before you consider the sheer boredom of sitting at a desk coding for 8 hours a day.

Set up a Github account too so you can demonstrate progression and talk through your journey at interview

My husband is a programmer. They aren't ageist if you show you have been learning newer languages (as well as the staples). My husband did a HNC many years ago but mainly he is self taught! Do a couple of courses and see if it's for you (check they are decent courses and recognised by the industry) It's worth getting yourself into something entry level to start with and to keep learning on the job teaching yourself anything new. I'd also reach out to people in your local area who are Developers and ask for advice (try local fb pages) this is helpful in two ways as they might have helpful advice and because when you are looking for a job it's useful to have contacts. Try to use these new languages in your job so you can put on your cv. Don't stay longer than 18months/2 years in your first role. Maybe look at contracting once you have experience. To make any real money you need to be london based, but there are many work from home and part work from home options. You need to be ambitious and willing to push yourself. My husband is always teaching himself the latest thing. Coincidentally i have a friend who knows an old programming language that could if she went contracting would make her a packet as so few people understand it! Once you have done some courses update your cv and put it on LinkedIn and speak to lots of recruiters.

@Arianya

Web companies tend to be run by young single men who aren’t very accommodating towards older people, women in general, or people with kids and commitments which mean they can’t do drinks after work or team building at weekends etc. I’ve also found that the fact these companies are mostly run by young men means they can be very discriminatory and they don’t have the maturity to understand people’s legal rights or even common decency. That’s before you consider the sheer boredom of sitting at a desk coding for 8 hours a day.

If you find coding boring then it's clearly not for you... why bother commenting? People who manage to be employable will have spent longer than that. They'll know whether it suits. Also devs work at ALL companies, from Sainsbury's, to your local NHS tust. WTF is a 'web company'?

You can work from anywhere.
You just need a good website and to build up recommendations. Go for it!

Not all websites are for young people!