I’m 53. Just finished this part of University. Hold a senior role in the broadcast industry. How to transition into the dev community on a professional level? Basically - get a job outside of broadcast.
Things to consider when advising:
- I’ve never applied for a job in my life. Ever.
- I’m used to extreme pressure. At the second by second level.
- I’m used to getting people to perform at a high enough level to get what is needed done, done.
Any advice on how to proceed from here, would be greatly appreciated. I’m in Sydney, Australia.
Top comments (11)
Jaime, first off congratulations on graduating!
Second, congratulations on making a career pivot! No matter your age, it can feel bewildering at first. But your passion should override any nerves or doubts about yourself you should have. I always remind myself, everyone is learning and the table is big enough for everyone to have a seat at it (being the tech industry).
My advice is to make some material to put on your website or github. Sharing how you build things helps potential employers see how you work and what you know. Also, it's a good opportunity to share with other developers online for peer review.
Blogging also helps tackle both of the aforementioned points, but also helps establish some web presence for yourself.
IMO, networking is very, very important. It can get foots in doors as culture fit is really important at a lot of places. So making friends on Tech Twitter or another social platform can possibly help.
Another point is, apply to a lot of places. You'll most likely get hired as a junior dev, but don't take offense to that or let that dissuade your accepting a role. I only say a junior since you don't have any work experience as a developer. Working with a team in an agile/scrum environment can be an education in and of itself.
Hiring juniors is great tho as it gives the company an opportunity to mold the developer they are really needing.
I hope this helps some and reccomend jumping on Twitter. Lots of programmer knowledge sharing going on over there, as well as here on dev.to.
Best of luck to you and welcome to the circus!
Thanks Brett. That all sounds bang on. I've got an idea for a platform I want to build, I have no shortage of work in my current broacast role, so I'm going to build this platform and see how it goes, first. Why not?
Thanks again for the advice
Congrats🎊
I am looking for my first position as well, I'm self taught and a Bootcamp grad. I am mostly a Frontend Developer. Currently working on my portfolio and practicing algorithms on Codewars.
Wishing you the best in your job hunt!
Likewise!
This is inspiring. I'm 43, also changing careers. I worked in insurance and compliance for 19 years. I'm in Melbourne, Australia. I think you already have alot of transferrable skills that you may not realise. Your experience is priceless.
Thanks Sherman. I’m just dotting my “i”s etc. seem to be getting a bit of interest just from posting the testamur. Fingers crossed
Congratulations on graduating! and congratulations on trying something new!
You wrestled your fears and got it done. If what you say about yourself is true, then there is only one thing to do.
PS. I have been there too. We are the same age. I left my second career for my third much the same way. ;))
Thanks Matt
Congrats! I'm about 2.5 years away from finishing my degree, so that should make me probably 54 when I get done.
Since you've a full time job already, I think starting on the idea in your head is a great way to go.
If you decide to try and move into dev full time, I think you could probably move into a management role give your background. If you definitely want to be hands on coding, then a junior dev role is the most likely target.
Do have to keep in mind that you will get passed over because you have 25 years in an industry, at a high level - and a lot of companies will expect you to get bored/frustrated/something (with a junior role) and move on to something else too quickly. With that in mind, doing your own project while networking with user-groups/communities/local meet-ups will go a long way toward both improving your skills and figuring out a path forward.
Nice one, Trent. That sounds pretty realistic
Just curious, why do you want to transition from such a long and established career in broadcast, to software development?
Whatever the reason, I think it's great that you are. If I understood the reason I might be able to advise better.
(I'm 55 and work as a Dev manager.)