TOP-13 Programmers Who Started Late

Many people have mastered the art of programming in the later years of their lives. In fact, they’ve have gone on to become successful programmers that are sort after. Also, many have developed booming businesses and are considered examples within the programming community.

So, in no particular order, here are the TOP-13 programmers who started late.

1. Debby Alberts

At the age of 58, Debby Albert became a UX designer. Earlier in her life, Debby was an expert graphic designer with significant experience with advertising. Therefore, her transition was relatively easier for her. She quickly learned new skills while further sharpening those she already had.

Although Debby is considered older in the programming world, her background allowed her to seamlessly fit into the industry. At the moment, she is a full-time UX designer. Debby is currently a consultant at Infosys (Information Technology and Services). Also, she owns her website and is involved in various other gigs.

2. Derek Langton

Darek is a classic example of how you can transition into an unrelated career. Mr. Langton was initially a state trooper in the State of Massachusetts who served for 18-years. At the age of 42, Darek dropped his uniform and became an iOS designer after decades of service. He learned the trade by watching videos from Stanford, MIT, and, finally, YouTube.

Darek spent a lot of time learning his new trade leaving no stone unturned. He is currently a mobile app consultant and a director at Founder Friendly Labs in Palo Alto, California.

3. Nathalie Christmann-Cooper

Mrs. Nathalie began her journey into the world of programming when she was almost 40-years. This transition was prompted because she and her husband wanted a website for their business. Nathalie decided to step-up for the task because they couldn’t afford to hire an expert. Soon after, she became a decent web developer.

Nathalie launched her tech startup when she was past 40. Soon after, she decided to increase her knowledge and joined a programming bootcamp. She is currently a software engineer at Zoopla, which is an online real estate business.

4. Bill Barnett

At 40, Bill Barnett did the incredibly brave thing of joining a university in Ohio where he studied Computer Science. Before then, Bill had spent the last 17 years of his life repairing aircraft.

Bill Barnett now co-owns a software development company named Gaslight, which consists of a team of about 30 software developers in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. Additionally, Bill is an Executive Director at Queen City Merge, a community-based organization aimed at connecting programmers.

5. Tyson Daugherty

With a major in Fine Arts, Tyson had always been involved with product creation. However, he was never involved with the programming aspect. At about 40, he quickly delved into active programming as he wanted to get involved with actual product creation.

Tyson join a bootcamp program in 2013, which positioned him to be in line for the web engineering job he got at Nike. At the moment, Tyson is a software engineer with RAPID.

6. Syk Houdeib

Syk Houdeib is another late bloomer that started programming at the age of 40 years. Syk had no previous relevant knowledge or experience that would prepare him to learn to program. The most endearing part of his story is that he taught himself coding while employed full-time and without breaking the bank. Syk’s programming journey began with a conversation with his partner, who also ventured into coding due to the poor representation of females within tech. Before his journey into full-blown programming, Syk was teaching English in the City of Granada in Spain. Additionally, he has a degree certificate in music and had worked in the food industry. Now, Syk is a front-end engineer, and he is enthusiastic about his programming career.

7. Adam Friedl

Adam Friedl had been a lawyer for more than 10-years of his life before he transitioned to become a full-time programmer. The dramatic career switch began when he was 41 years old. Adam began his switch to programming by attending a remote bootcamp. In order for him not to lose his livelihood, Adam continued with his day job on a full-time basis. After gaining considerable coding knowledge, Adam retired as a lawyer and became full-time programming in 2018. At the moment, Adam is a developer that mostly works with advertising companies from all around America remotely. He works with various individuals within the business world, which include designers and product developers. Additionally, Adam has been working with Rakuten USA since 2019.

8. Yadira Cisneros

Yadira Cisneros picked interest in web design when he turned 30. However, he was still too scared to begin coding properly. Rather, he was just fiddling with the idea and learning basic programming terminologies. When Yadira turned 35 years old, he pushed forward to learn programming head-on. Since then, Yadira has learned how to develop web-based applications. Specifically, he is an expert in the design of front-end platforms for various companies in fintech. Yadira has worked with banking giants such as Santander and American Express. Additionally, he works closely with governmental institutions and several players in the telecommunications industry.

9. Maude Mensah Simpson

Maude began programming when she turned 34 years old. With a toddler in her care, Maude joggled a full-time job and the stress of learning something entirely new compared to her previous work experience. Slowly, she became proficient and eventually landed a job as a developer. The abstract nature of coding was what fascinated Maude the most. Attending a programming bootcamp was key in her development as a software engineer. After tireless hours of learning, Maude is now working with MedThink, which is a key player in the pharmaceutical industry.

10. Pedro Gonzalez

Pedro is amongst the long line of musicians that make the move from music to coding. After teaching music for over a decade, Pedro began to code in his late 30’s. A few years after, Pedro Gonzalez secured a full-time job developing Android applications. Additionally, Pedro was able to become both an Oracle and a Google Certified Associate. Nonetheless, Pedro still plays music when he can.

11. Clayton Boyle

Clayton Boyle never thought he would find himself programming later in life. All his life had been involved in the food industry. He had been a restaurant manager for a number of years. After he had burnt out, Clayton decided to switch careers and went into real estate. However, this shift never satisfied Clayton. So, he quickly changed his direction. Clayton, at the age of 36, went into programming head-on by enrolling with RefactorU. At this 10-week boot camp, he quickly learned several programming tools and programs. Clayton learned applications such as Angular, MongoDB, and much more. Now, Clayton is still involved with the real estate industry. But he works as a software developer that manages the IT needs of BiggerPockets.

12. Aimee Morgan

Before learning how to program, Aimee Morgan was an archivist at the libraries at Stanford University. A few months after she turned 35, Aimee decided to learn how to code. She decided to learn Python by enrolling in an online programming course called Hackbright Academy – a software academy specifically made for women. After working really hard to learn new skills, Aimee quickly got better at coding. As a result, she was able to land a job with Flixster. Aimee’s contribution to this company helped the team to develop a functional online ticket platform, which increased the business’s revenue. Since then, Aimee has landed a job with Google as a reliability engineer.

13. Pavol Almasi

Pavol Almasi had always aspired to be a programmer. However, he ended up studying Business Administration at the university. Nonetheless, Pavol never gave up on his dream. After he had turned 40, Pavol enrolled in a school to learn how to program. There, Pavol learned programming languages such as Java, C++, Visual Basic, and much more. Soon after graduating, Pavol landed a job as a developer at Berkshire Hathaway, which is an insurance company.

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