Start learning at 50

I’ve always wanted to learn programming. I’ve read a blog post saying that at this age it was to late . Then I read a post here in saying the opposite. I’ve found a site that was learn x in y minutes where it has a bunch of languages there. After reading them, the languages that caught my attention were Julia, Clojure and Go. Are any of these good for a beginner or should I start with something else? I know what are variables, can spot an if/else statement but that’s about it. What are some good resources for someone like me who likes to learn by doing things?

  • Hemingways_ShotgunEnglish
    22•10 months ago

    I’m 48. Last year, during a period of unemployment, I decided that to kill time I wanted to create a 3D aircraft model for my flight simulator (X-Plane). I had dabbled in Blender in the past, but nothing too in depth. So I sat down and just did it.

    Some of the features I wanted to implement required plugins that had to made with Lua (a programming language) so again…I just did it.

    Age and learning have nothing to do with each other. Regardless of the topic. I feel like maybe the only valid reason that such ideas took hold is because the older we get, the less time we have to focus on learning new things, and so it can seem as though we can’t learn, when in reality we just don’t have the time to. That’s certainly what I found to be the case personally. It wasn’t until I had literally nothing else to do that I could focus on really learning 3D Modelling and basic programming.

    The solution to that, that I found, was to be project based. I wouldn’t have made as much progress if I didn’t specifically have some thing I wanted to make, whether that’s an app, a 3D model, or whatever.

  • bob
    10•10 months ago

    Python is suitable for beginner and is also easy to write code in different fields. I’m a developer, half of my time is writing code to get things done, and the other half is learning more development techniques, which I’ve been learning for over twenty years.

  • @filister@lemmy.world
    11•10 months ago

    It is never too late to learn something like this. Especially now when there are so many resources that can help you to learn it. It is another story if you want to find a job as a programmer, because I think the majority of companies prefer to hire younger talents.

    Python is an excellent choice for a beginner.

    Good luck and keep going!

  • @breadsmasher@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12•10 months ago

    Its never too late to start learning something! I am sure you are well aware of your learning rate and how it changes as you get older but that doesn’t mean you cannot learn at all.

    As a beginner, often Python is recommended as a simpler language to pick up and start learning.

    Do you have a goal in mind with what you want to learn? Learning to write code in general is fine, but if you have an idea in mind that you want to program, different languages maybe a better starting point. For example if you want to build a web app browser based, id suggest learning front end tools like javascript. Whereas if its a desktop app you want to build, python would work well.

    Or maybe you want to just learn programming as a concept without any specific goals in mind beyond how stuff works?

  • @eerongal@ttrpg.network
    35•10 months ago

    What are you looking to actually do with your programming skills? That will heavily influence which languages to recommend you learn. Do you want to make websites? build games? do AI stuff? Create enterprise-level software? something else?

    • @OhmsLawn@lemmy.world
      10•10 months ago

      This is always the question that trips me up.

      I’m 5 years younger than OP. I work in a municipal transportation power system job (we maintain and control the grid for trains, trolleys, etc.). I’m sure I’m wasting all sorts of effort in my professional life. I have time. I got a lot out of learning Power Automate. However, if you ask me to pick one specific project, I get overwhelmed because I don’t know what’s reasonable.

      I don’t know enough to know if my ideas are achievable, or if I’d just be bashing my head against the wall. I don’t know if they’re laughably simple tasks, multimillion-dollar propositions, or Goldilocks ideas that would be perfect to learn a coding language.

      • @eerongal@ttrpg.network
        10•10 months ago

        However, if you ask me to pick one specific project, I get overwhelmed because I don’t know what’s reasonable.

        I don’t know enough to know if my ideas are achievable, or if I’d just be bashing my head against the wall. I don’t know if they’re laughably simple tasks, multimillion-dollar propositions, or Goldilocks ideas that would be perfect to learn a coding language.

        List out some ideas you’re thinking of. While it may not be obvious to you, someone who is seasoned (me or someone else) might notice at least a general theme or idea to point you in the right direction for where you should go and what you should learn, regardless of if the projects are reasonable.

        Note - Most projects take teams to realize, so if your ideas are too large, they might not generally be feasible alone.

      • Hemingways_ShotgunEnglish
        3•10 months ago

        I don’t know enough to know if my ideas are achievable, or if I’d just be bashing my head against the wall.

        Achievable is subjective, and even if you progress a ways and learn something that makes you realize that that particular project can’t be achieved how you envisioned it, you still have the knowledge to either a) figure out new ways to achieve the same effect, or b) take to a new project.

        Knowledge builds on knowledge builds on knowledge. If factor in not starting a project is not knowing enough to know if it’s achievable or not, you’ll never actually get the necessary knowledge to figure that out. You can’t know how to do something until you try to do it…fundamentally.

  • @abbadon420@lemm.ee
    1•10 months ago

    I’ve had some students who started at 50. The biggest problem is that it is hard to find a junior position as a 50 year old. Age discrimination is definitely a thing. If your goal is to make a career in programming from scratch, you might be too late, but 30 is sometimes already too late in that regard. Networking, nepotism and the good old “foot in the door” helps there. If your goal is just to learn and maybe apply it to your current job or your own business, than it’s perfect to start now.

    Most succesful students I’ve seen of the older category are those that have drive and passion. One student had her own fotography studio and wanted to build a database and website for that. She struggled a lot, but persevered and made a great application. Another was a taxi driver who’s children put him in the course. He turned out to be very talented and made and excelllent application for planning taxi rides as his final project.

    So it depends what your goals are.

  • @xmunk@sh.itjust.works
    6•10 months ago

    Find a computer problem that you want to solve and focus on technologies that will help you solve it. Traditionally python is considered an excellent learning language due to the wide library support and adherence to most common programming styles - is there any romanticized pet project you’ve got on your brain?

  • @porgamrer@programming.dev
    1•10 months ago

    Out of the ones you listed I’d suggest Julia or Clojure. They are simple and have interactive modes you can use to experiment easily.

    Experienced programmers often undersell the value of interactive prompts because they don’t need them as much. They already have a detailed mental model of how most languages behave.

    Another thing: although Julia and Clojure are simple, they are also quite obscure and have very experimental designs. Python might be a better choice. From a beginner’s perspective it’s very similar to Julia, but it’s vastly more popular and lots of people learn it as their first language.

    Based on the languages you found, I’m guessing you were looking for something simple and elegant. I think Python fits this description too.

  • UFO
    -1•10 months ago

    ChatGPT is great at tutoring python. Go as well. Not sure on the others.