I'm not going to lie to you, I haven't always had a passion for computers and software engineering, I kind of stumbled into this world, with no prior knowledge that it existed. There is a common misconception that all Software Engineers have lived, breathed and typed code since they were very young, I can confidently debunk. You really can start at any age.
I didn't start coding until I was 22. Having the worst CS teacher ever in high school scared me away until then. Didn't even care about computers at all until I was 18, and only then to find free software to replace all the music gear (synths, drum machines, effects processors, sequencers etc., I've been a songwriter since I was 17) that I lost to pawn shops to pay bills after moving out on my own.
Fortunately, I didn't go straight to college, because I had no idea what I wanted to do back then, and it would have been an even bigger waste of time and money than I consider the two career relevant programs I did attend (I've never used more than 2% of what I learned in any job since, and actually feel that I learned more useful for the job from working at Starbucks).
While I did a ton of freelancing in IT, design, and development, I didn't make my formal entrance into the industry until a few years after that and, even then, it was on the IT side. Continuing to freelance, I didn't make the lateral move to dev until a few years later still; but I never looked back once I did.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
I didn't start coding until I was 22. Having the worst CS teacher ever in high school scared me away until then. Didn't even care about computers at all until I was 18, and only then to find free software to replace all the music gear (synths, drum machines, effects processors, sequencers etc., I've been a songwriter since I was 17) that I lost to pawn shops to pay bills after moving out on my own.
Fortunately, I didn't go straight to college, because I had no idea what I wanted to do back then, and it would have been an even bigger waste of time and money than I consider the two career relevant programs I did attend (I've never used more than 2% of what I learned in any job since, and actually feel that I learned more useful for the job from working at Starbucks).
While I did a ton of freelancing in IT, design, and development, I didn't make my formal entrance into the industry until a few years after that and, even then, it was on the IT side. Continuing to freelance, I didn't make the lateral move to dev until a few years later still; but I never looked back once I did.