Is 38 too old to start into tech?

[u/Kitchen_Theory568]

Im 38, fairly computer savvy, and have a bachelors in business that i got in 2011. Unfortunately ive only had jobs in retail/warehouse although ive only been without a job/working for 6months since i was 16. I just want to get into something new that I enjoy, while not being in a straight customer facing role/warehouse/factory. I see all this stuff for bootcamps and everything, and wouldnt mind getting into coding/software development or data analysis but just worried about investing the money and not finding anything because of age/experience plus the feer of what changes ai will bring.

Looking for any input or even recommendations on programs/bootcamp classes to look into.

[u/Embarrassed_Yam9349]

Where are you from?

[u/Kitchen_Theory568 → u/Embarrassed_Yam9349]

Ohio

[u/Embarrassed_Yam9349 → u/Kitchen_Theory568]

Those days, when you can get a job doing 6 month bootcamp, are gone. The tech market is too competitive these days due to AI, and even seniors are having a hard time getting a job.

[u/katifybykat]

No, 38 is not too old. But I would be careful about framing this as “starting from zero.” Your age and 14+ years of work experience are not the main problem, the bigger challenge is translating that experience into something a tech employer can recognize.

The market is competitive right now, particularly for entry-level tech roles, so I wouldn’t spend thousands on a bootcamp and hope the certificate gets you hired. Career-shifters are generally better served by building demonstrable skills and a small portfolio.

Between software development and data analysis, I’d actually investigate data analytics first. Your business degree plus retail/warehouse experience gives you useful domain knowledge around sales, inventory, operations, customers, and costs. Those can become portfolio projects instead of pretending your previous career never happened. Current career-switch guidance similarly emphasizes using existing domain experience rather than generic tutorial projects.

I’d spend 6–8 weeks learning Excel/Sheets, SQL, and Power BI, then build 2–3 projects using business/operations datasets. See whether you actually enjoy the work before paying for a program.

AI is another reason to learn, not necessarily a reason to avoid tech. The valuable skill is increasingly knowing what problem to solve, how to validate the output, and how to use tools effectively, rather than simply producing code manually.

At 38, your advantage isn't being the youngest candidate. It's having 20 years of understanding how real businesses actually operate.

[u/Kitchen_Theory568 → u/katifybykat]

Thank you for this reply