I'm in my late 40s and I just got a bachelor's degree. I just started a masters program. It's never too late.
no, but at 23 you'd wish you started at 22
as the saying goes the best time to start was when you were 6 the second best time is now
Don't ever, and I mean ever, let anyone tell you that you're too old to try something new. If anyone ever does, know, deep in your heart, that person is insecure and afraid of being their authentic self. Go forth, try new things, learn new knowledge, find out you don't like things, sometimes get frustrated, and discover the things that make life worth living for you. You will be so much happier if you set aside what anyone else will think of you and focus on "This interests me"
In 4 years, you will be 26. That will happen regardless of your decision. But you can choose now whether you will be a 26-year-old with a CompSci degree, or a 26-year-old without one.
(It's also pretty common in IT to see people go back to formal education to update their skills)
Where are you from? This is a strange sentiment from my perspective. I didn't even know what I wanted to do when I was 22. But I had the privilege of growing up in a country that doesn't burden youth with high interest university debt. I appreciate that in some countries you need to get a job as soon as you finish studying to pay loans etc. To answer your question specifically, no, 22 is not too old to start studying computer science.
Societal pressure to "settle down" as young as possible. Due to the economy of course that has become a very unrealistic expectation.
Dude, most people in Israel start a degree around 22-24 in Israel. You're not the only one who served 3 years in the military. Starting a degree earlier is almost exclusively for privileged people. If you can get accepted to a uni at 22, that's actually really early - you'd be the youngest post-army person in class.
If you didn't serve in the military, at least you're not behind in academic terms.
edit: this isn't even taking into account the perspective of age. The time you'll have between finishing the degree and just being 40 is A LOT longer than it seems at 22. I'm 29, you have soooooooo much time. And on a second age perspective, even at 40 it's not a bad idea because you can just do whatever you want.
TL;DR just go for it
That's tough, I'm sorry you have to deal with that. I didn't know what I wanted to do at 22. I'm grateful I spent time to work out what I was passionate about. I started working in tech when I was about nearly 30. My career has been fulfilling because it's something I enjoy and I'm passionate about. Good luck mate
How did you get started with your career change? Earn a degree or some certs maybe?
You made me spitu beer out in a dark room. Thanks for making my world happier and wettier.
Enders game is a book/movie about a future human civilitation that is under attack of an alien species. To ensure survival they train children as strategists because they take more risk and use unconventional tactics. They are basically saying "nobody requires you to be young here".
The thing with computer science is that it's always changing, so everyone has to keep learning it regardless of age or prior experience, or they'll risk getting left behind.
Not even remotely.
That's how old I was when I started pursuing it seriously instead of just dabbling. Two decades and change later and it's still a choice I don't regret.
The basics are fairly straightforward and the field is wide, deep, and mutable enough that everyone's always picking up new things anyway. The only thing that'll make you different from your peers is the ratio of how many birthdays you've celebrated v. how much direct experience you have. Thankfully that metric is spread out far enough amongst CS folks that it's only useful as a point of conversational amusement and has no bearing on one's ability to do the actual work.
I started doing digital design and animation at 29. Made a career out of it. I think you are safe.
Nope, I'm almost 30 and just graduated BS of Computer Science after 7 years of on and off schooling.
I've been a professional software engineer for over ten years now. I didn't study anything to do with computers until I was 20; I'd been aiming for a different career and was halfway through a degree before I discovered I didn't enjoy it and wasn't getting very good grades, so I swapped.
While at uni, I was part of the student mentor program where I did teaching assistant work for the lower years. One of the students in the lab group I assisted was a guy in his forties who'd seen his factory job automated away and decided if computers were going to take his job, he'd go learn how to work with computers and move into the sector that was creating jobs rather than removing them. He was a good student and picked things up quickly. I have every confidence he's still out there doing well as an engineer.
22 is a perfectly fine age to start. If you've got the right attitude - the desire and motivation to focus on your studies and put in the work - you'll do great.
One thing worth being aware of beforehand though is how a lot of your studying might go. The professor I assisted in those labs told me about an observation that's been made in the teaching profession, and I saw it in action myself. A lot of computer science and programming is about finding the mental model that helps you understand what's happening, how the computers work. Until you find it, you'll be stuck. Then, something will click, and it'll make sense. The professor told me they don't see the usual bell curve of grades - they see two. One cluster of students at the bottom who don't get it, and one higher up who understand. A lot of learning computing is less of a linear progression and more a process of running into the wall until you chance upon the particular explanation or analogy or perspective that works for the way you think, and then suddenly that particular concept is easy, and it's onto the next one. This series of little clicks is how you progress.
Once you've got a few core concepts down it's easier to work out how new things fit into the mental model you're constructing, but be prepared for the early bits to have some frustrating periods where it feels like you aren't getting anywhere. Stick at it, and look around for other resources, other books or tutorials, other people to explain it their way. I frequently saw a student look totally clueless at my explanation, but another student who'd understood what I said would paraphrase it slightly differently, and that was all it took for the clueless student to suddenly understand and pass the exercise. That lightbulb moment is as fun to experience yourself as it is to bring about in others. You just have to hang in there until it happens.
The only way you're "too old" for something is if you are like 60 and want to become a commercial pilot. The age limit is 65 and if you spend a few years training, you're left with like 1 year of flying time. No airline would hire you, and that probably doesn't earn as much as the time you spent.
But computer science have no age limit. Age 22 is barely anything. You're just a child (like not in a bad way), not even old enough to be a US Congressperson or US President. If you keep wondering about if you're too old, you might soon actually become "too old". Start now.
And good luck! 😉