I‘m a Grandma and my Coding Career is just Getting Started

As I watched my grandkids gleefully tapping away on their tablets, I couldn‘t help but feel a pang of envy. At 63, I sometimes worry that I‘ve missed the boat when it comes to technology. But then I remember that I‘m not ready to be put out to pasture just yet. You see, I‘ve finally found my calling, and it just so happens to be in the male-dominated world of computer programming.

My fascination with coding started early, way back in 1967 when I was just a teenager. I remember the first time I saw a computer – it was a hulking IBM mainframe at my father‘s office. He tried explaining to me how it worked, how you could input commands and the machine would dutifully carry them out. I was hooked. I went home and tried to build my own "computer" out of cardboard boxes and string.

But like many women of my generation, I was discouraged from pursuing my interest in technology. "Girls aren‘t good at math and science," my high school guidance counselor told me bluntly. "Why don‘t you consider nursing or teaching instead?" So I did. I put my coding dreams on a shelf, got married, had children, and fell into a series of uninspiring secretarial jobs.

Fast forward four decades and two grandchildren later. With more free time on my hands, I found myself drawn to the sleek lines and limitless potential of my daughter‘s MacBook. On a whim, I signed up for a community center class on web design basics. As I tentatively tapped out my first line of HTML, something clicked. The years melted away and I felt that same spark I had when I first glimpsed that IBM mainframe.

I was eager to learn more but found myself constantly battling doubt and insecurity. Most of my classmates were decades younger than me, and I couldn‘t help but notice the surprised looks and raised eyebrows when I walked into the room. Was I crazy to think I could become a programmer at my age? Would anyone actually hire a coding grandma?

Unfortunately, my fears were not unfounded. Ageism is a pervasive problem in the tech industry. According to a 2018 study by Visier, a workforce analytics company, tech workers over the age of 40 are perceived as less valuable and less capable than their younger counterparts. The study found that older tech workers are often passed over for promotions, paid less, and more likely to be laid off during workforce reductions (Visier, 2018).

Age Group	Percentage of Tech Workforce
Under 30	27%
30-39	45%
40-49	20%
50+	8%

Tech workforce age distribution (Visier, 2018)

Gender discrimination compounds the challenges faced by older women in tech. A 2020 report by Girls Who Code found that 50% of women in tech roles leave the industry by age 35, citing a lack of career growth opportunities and a hostile "bro culture" (Girls Who Code, 2020). As a woman in my 60s, I knew I would have to work twice as hard to prove myself in a field dominated by young men.

But I was determined not to let other people‘s perceptions stand in my way. I threw myself into learning everything I could about full-stack web development. I stayed up late doing freeCodeCamp tutorials, asked endless questions on Stack Overflow, and picked the brains of every programmer who would give me the time of day. I attended meetups and hackathons, where I was often the only woman over 30 in the room.

Slowly but surely, I started to gain confidence in my abilities. I discovered that my decades of experience in other fields gave me a unique perspective on problem-solving and communication. As a former executive assistant, I had honed my skills in project management, attention to detail, and working with diverse teams. These "soft skills" proved to be invaluable assets in my new career as a coder.

Landing that first tech job was a struggle. I applied to dozens of positions, tweaking my resume to downplay my age and highlight my coding skills. When I finally got an interview, I was a bundle of nerves. But as soon as I started talking about React hooks and Node.js, I could see the interviewer‘s skepticism melt away. "Your experience and perspective will be a real asset to our team," she told me as she offered me the job.

That was two years ago, and I‘ve been happily employed as a full-stack developer ever since. My colleagues have become like a second family to me, and I love the constantly evolving challenges of the job. But it‘s not always easy being the oldest person in the room. I still face occasional condescension and age-related jokes. I‘ve learned to tune it out and focus on the work.

The beautiful thing about programming is that your code speaks for itself. When I solve a complex bug or learn a cutting-edge framework, I‘m judged on the merits of my skills, not the lines on my face or the date on my birth certificate. I may have gotten a late start, but in many ways, I feel like my maturity and life experience give me an edge. I‘m not afraid to ask "dumb" questions, admit gaps in my knowledge, or challenge the status quo.

Age diversity in the workplace has been shown to have numerous benefits. A study by the Harvard Business Review found that age-diverse teams tend to be more innovative and better at problem-solving than homogeneous ones (Gratton & Scott, 2016). Older workers bring a wealth of knowledge, experience, and emotional intelligence to the table, while younger workers contribute fresh ideas and technological savvy. Together, they can create a dynamic and well-rounded team.

I know I‘m not the only one who has discovered a passion for programming later in life. More and more older adults are shaking off stereotypes and embracing the intellectual challenges and creative possibilities of coding. Online learning platforms like Codecademy and Udemy have made it easier than ever to acquire new skills from the comfort of your own home. Coding bootcamps, such as General Assembly and Programming School, offer immersive training programs that can help career changers get up to speed quickly.

Older coders also have a range of exciting career opportunities beyond traditional full-time employment. Many choose to freelance or start their own businesses, leveraging their coding skills and professional networks to create a flexible and fulfilling second act. Others become mentors or teachers, sharing their knowledge and experience with the next generation of programmers.

So to all the other coding grandmas and grandpas out there, I say: embrace your inner geek! It‘s never too late to learn something new and change the trajectory of your career. Take classes, build projects, network with other developers, and don‘t let anyone tell you you‘re too old to code. The tech world needs more silver-haired troublemakers like us shaking things up.

And if you‘re a young hotshot programmer rolling your eyes at the idea of a coding grandma, I challenge you to open your mind. Diversity of age and experience can only strengthen our industry. Imagine the innovation and insight we could unlock if we embraced coders of all generations.

As for me, I have no plans to slow down anytime soon. Next up on my learning list: diving deeper into machine learning and exploring the world of data science. And who knows, maybe one day I‘ll be the old lady teaching coding to the grandkids around the dining room table. If you can‘t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?

It just goes to show, you‘re never too old to debug your life and rewrite your story. Here‘s to proving that this old dog can definitely learn some new tricks – and write a heck of a function while I‘m at it.

References:

Girls Who Code. (2020). Resetting Tech Culture. https://girlswhocode.com/assets/files/gwc_thriving_report.pdf

Gratton, L., & Scott, A. (2016). The Corporate Implications of Longer Lives. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2016/03/the-corporate-implications-of-longer-lives

Visier. (2018). The Truth About Ageism in the Tech Industry. https://www.visier.com/clarity/the-truth-about-ageism-in-the-tech-industry/