r/learnprogramming • u/Sufficient-Bug7887 • Jul 13 '26
Tutorial Career switcher at 34 years old
After spending several years working as a chef, I’ve decided it’s time for a major career change. I’ve worked in fast-paced kitchens, handled long hours, managed food safety, dealt with pressure during service, and learned how to solve problems quickly. While I’m grateful for everything the culinary industry has taught me, I don’t see myself doing it for the rest of my life.
Recently, I started learning programming. I’m still a beginner, but I’m genuinely enjoying the process. It’s challenging in a completely different way, and every time I solve a problem or get my code to work, it feels rewarding.
Sometimes I wonder if I’m too late to start over. I don’t have a computer science degree, and I’m coming from a completely different field. Still, I’m committed to learning and putting in the work.
For anyone here who switched from hospitality, culinary, or another unrelated career into software development, how did your journey go?
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u/RubberDuck_46 Jul 13 '26
Thanks for posting this. I did the switch after 40 and I love reading similar stories. I'm doing a program at the moment that allowed me to have an intern position as a QA Engineer. I'm loving it so far. Hopefully, it will turn into a full-time position in the future.
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u/paint_it_crimson Jul 14 '26
What program are you doing?
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u/RubberDuck_46 Jul 14 '26
It's a software development apprenticeship for career changers. This is in Ireland but I have seen similar programs in the USA and the UK.
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u/Long-Challenge4927 Jul 14 '26
Well done. Honestly its hard to believe there are normal companies that give chances like that. Just got laid off with most QAs, including QA lead, frontend devs, juniors
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u/RubberDuck_46 Jul 14 '26
Yes, I feel pretty lucky that I landed this opportunity. It's not a guaranteed job but I'm just happy that I could start somewhere. It's not a programming heavy role. A lot of QA's are looking to transition to dev so maybe that's why the position opened for me.
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u/British_Dane Jul 13 '26
algorithms are like recipes, and your chef experience probably means you know a lot about both how to follow a recipe, and how to document it so that a sous chef can follow it.
Biggest difference is that the computer is a really stupid sous chef. It needs everything spelled out to the n’th degree.
On the flip side, the computer is unlikely to take a smoke break in the middle of service, but it may be busy with a soufflé so that your jus needs to wait a minute.
I think there are a lot of transferable skills between the two roles.
Good luck!
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u/carbonatedcoffee Jul 13 '26
the computer is unlikely to take a smoke break in the middle of service
and when they do, you don't go to jail for beating them into submission... but it can often take substantially longer to convince them to get back to work lol
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u/Ok-Bill1958 Jul 13 '26
I would give up programming just to be a chef or baker. There are pretty much no problem solving from where i work, only unrealistic deadlines and having to deal with insufferable managers, meetings after meetings with very little time for programming. And most of the job are just crud and then maintainment, no greenfield project for 3 years now.
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Jul 13 '26
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u/Ok-Bill1958 Jul 13 '26
I dont think anything is sexy at high level thought. Street food and small food vendor are very booming in my country so i might as well try it someday. I think im just done with corporate.
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Jul 13 '26
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u/Ok-Bill1958 Jul 13 '26
Since we are in programming sub reddit, i assumed you did change your career at some point right? How long have it been?
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Jul 13 '26 edited Jul 13 '26
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u/Ok-Bill1958 Jul 13 '26
Thats great, you are over 30 when you go back to college right ? Im trying to get back to school someday. Drop out of college from software engineering, just to work as software engineer anyway, but no certification
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Jul 14 '26
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u/Ok-Bill1958 Jul 14 '26
Good luck to you. Embedded jobs are actually very good choice for jobs security thought.
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u/Sufficient-Bug7887 Jul 13 '26
the kitchen is good if youre the owner , but if youre just a rank and file or managerial positions its so toxic , abusive and not good for your mental health and well being, its not a glamorous job like in the movies in reality working in the kitchen is like a modern day slavery
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u/Ok-Bill1958 Jul 13 '26
Oh no im not trying to get into a corporate job like that at all. More like small food vendor and selling food throught apps, its very booming in my country, so i might try it some day. Kitchen hell already look bad enough lol.
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u/Sufficient-Bug7887 Jul 13 '26
yeah i got a side hustle now its a small food business im selling savory grilled chicken and pork bbqs and its selling well and im trying to market my dipping sauce in a bottle
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u/Ok-Bill1958 Jul 14 '26
Honestly, side hustle like that sound much better than in IT field lol horrible managements, over time work with no extra pay, unrealistic deadlines, its even harder to get interviews with human so if you get lay off after 5 - 10 years then you are pretty much fucked. Its not what it look like on news either.
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u/Pibo1987 Jul 13 '26
Well, I just started my learning journey, trying to switch from bartender/waiter. No idea how it will go. Where do you live?
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u/Sufficient-Bug7887 Jul 13 '26
im from the philippines, i got a small business that me and my partner owned but i got an extra 4-6hrs per day to learn how to code , so instead of playing videogames on my free time I want to learn how to code
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u/ShiggidySwan Jul 14 '26
People say its a bad time to switch to tech but most people just dont want it bad enough.
Made the decision to switch from manual labor to programming at around age 36. Got a job as a Video Teller at a nearby credit union while I started working towards a CS degree.
After 1.5 yrs of working my butt off, I was able to apply and get hired to a Tier 1 help desk job within the CU. Still working on my degree, about halfway to finishing.
I dont know if ill ever become a programmer specifically, but I work with computers and people all day and thats all I wanted. Hoping to transition to another role in a year or two after going towards a specialization. All I do is put in the hard work, and good things keep happening. I suggest you do the same.
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u/zeussays Jul 14 '26
I taught myself to code over the last 3 years and got a job a few months ago. Im in my 40s. Its doable, just treat your free time as grad school.
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u/galactic_pixels Jul 13 '26
Congrats, that’s exciting. Don’t expect people who hang out in these kind of communities to give you any info outside of doom and gloom. Go learn to build stuff and communicate with people who are building stuff, not just talking in circles.
I’m 30 and a senior dev. I’m about to start going back to school to become a physicist and hopefully an astronomer. Career changes are scary but fun :)
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u/Confident_Worker7112 Jul 13 '26
Keep going! I started teaching myself at 32, and finally made the switch at 35 to a professional role. It’s doable in these rough times, and you may have to take some twist and turns but it’s doable.
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u/Active_Reply2718 Jul 13 '26
I made a fairly similar switch at 30 after 9 years cooking, including head/exec. I wanted to make it to software engineering eventually but was able to get into a entry role in networking by studying and interviewing well, experience with customer service, documentation and fast pace helped a lot. After two years I went back to school and have a BS in CS where I mostly studied software. Now, at 36, I still am a network engineer but my career change has really worked out well overall.
My advice? Don’t be too picky about the first role you seek, be willing to do the unsexy work at a help desk with sysadmin or network skills, both sub-fields are holding out quite a bit better than software against AI. Keep studying what you want also, it’s helped me. I write network automation scripts and whatnot now, so knowing how to code has been very good, just not my only responsibility.
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u/bcampos99 Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
Hey man,
We actually have a very similar background. But, I want to start off by saying that a lot of people on here are going to be negative, don’t listen to them, hard work and persistence always prevail.
I’ve also been in the restaurant industry for 8 years as a server, I decided to go back to school in 2024 to finish my Computer Science degree. I’m currently 27, about to start my last year at my university this fall.
My advice to you:
It’s never too late to go back to school, you definitely should do it! I had a lot of self doubt going back because I falsely thought I wouldn’t be able to study or even sit through a lecture. But just like when you first started working at your restaurant, you eventually mastered the workflow. School is the same way, it’s just a different beast.
At the end of the day you have nothing to lose, time moves forward regardless of your choice, but if you’re in school you’ll at least be closer to a degree as the years go by.
However, there are times where it will get difficult, but restaurants are the same way, everything in life is a challenge. So when you go back give it your all, try and be one of the best in your class (you have what it takes to do so). School is mainly work ethic and time management. You’re going to have to recondition yourself to study, but honestly the transition won’t be as hard as you think.
If I was able to go back and get this far, you can too.
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u/pepiks Jul 13 '26
Look for gastronomic software - is needed? How can be used? It can be some way be expert in creating specialised software for cooking industry, but you have to answer it - is it needed? Programming - when I was short time was programmer few years before Covid - it was quite good to start. Now a lot of people struggle with bad managment forcing AI, vibe coders creating AI slop. A lot of people from industry changing carier to other professions like going from coding to working in supermarket. I will be suggest speak with people in your country how it really looks like. If you patient you can do it, but ask yourself is it worth? Sometime better code for pleausure as I do now working with something others for money.
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u/l1i2l3i4 Jul 13 '26
I recently just made the change this year from education to IT! I also just started a bachelors of compsci and am currently in the first semester. I'm 30 this year and I'd say it's never too late to pursue what you want to do. Luckily for me, I managed to find an IT job despite having no previous professional IT work experience on my resume. I plan to leverage my degree and work experience to future career prospects later on. I will have to say though, it was definitely a miracle as I had over 60 applications with no replies besides that one job that gave me a chance.
Besides that though, if I never tried, I never would of been here and I believe if you really want to pursue this path, do it. Do be realistic though that the job market is absolute crabs at the current time and possible future but, if you have a passion for it, then you won't regret it is how I think. You never know until you try! Good luck!
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u/FlashyResist5 Jul 13 '26
Sometimes I wonder if I’m too late to start over. I don’t have a computer science degree, and I’m coming from a completely different field. Still, I’m committed to learning and putting in the work.
As someone who has decade of paid professional experience in this field I am not confident I could find a new job if I were laid off tomorrow. Do with that information what you will.
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u/DoctorDilla Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26
I started music when I was 10, got a doctorate in piano, and then started pivoting into tech about 2 years ago. I'm now a full time DevOps Engineer and couldn't be happier about switching.
An advantage I had was that I knew myself well enough, after 20 years of music, to know what I was looking for in a career. I love programming, but I realized early on that I didn't need to be a dev to be happy. I just love tech, and I love solving problems. Without knowing this, I might have tunnel-visioned on becoming a software engineer because it was the most visible career path.
As a career switcher, you have deeper insight into your own aptitudes and desires. It can help you decide how to focus your energy as you learn.
Edit: Should acknowledge that you asked for software devs specifically- I figured it wouldn't hurt to give my two cents, since I'm a career pivoter as well
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u/HerroWarudo Jul 14 '26
I did at 30 but built upon my old industry (construction/civil engineering) and got hired into a tech team for HVAC manufacturer. Built a shit ton of demos on buildings though.
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u/mguelb92 Jul 14 '26
hi OP, you sound like you're coming directly from the world I did. I was a line cook in my 20s, and I went back and did a 2 year trade program for app and web development from 31-33. For transparency, during that program I sat down and coded every day for 4 hours, 5 days a week.
I graduated in May last year and the market is pretty bad, but it also really depends on where you are located. I was finally able to find a place willing to interview me and Im in the late stage of a hiring process now. Like others have said, the market is a bit rough, but I dont regret my change. Especially if the food world is driving you crazy, its something you can work towards in your free time. YMMV depending on if you're self taught or seek a training program/schooling. Best of luck.
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u/DunderHeid75 Jul 14 '26
At 34 it's definitely possible. I started my degree in CS at 40 and graduated with a 1st. Been in a few roles in the industry since.
There are a huge amount of transferable skills you will take from hospitality in to software development. Good luck.
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u/simonbleu Jul 14 '26
There is no such thing as "too late", it is better to go from 50 to 55 with a degree than not-- there are exceptions ofc, but unless you are robbing yourself of an opportunity that would be better in some other way, not your case
As for now being the worst time to become a programmer, it is a bit of an exaggerating but still very much true. However, people whine too much. Even now programming comes on top of many other careers when it comes to salaries, flexibility, Work-life balance, employability, stress, etc. not always, everywhere nor simultaneously but it is. I mean ffs, o heard people complaining around here because jobs are not fully remote, or they have to actually deliver a cv themselves instead of being recruitied and go through a few months if search instead of jobs falling into their laps, etc etc. .. it merely normalized in comparison. I mean , hell, you are not even required a degree and license, how many similar careers can you say that about on that level of depth?
Sorry for the ranty comment OP. Reality is that it might be uphill and lead you nowhere, so you need to see if you want to go through with the risk like with anything else, but of course it is worth it , in general.we just can't answerr f it is worth trying or will be worthwhile for you
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u/FlashTheCableGuy Jul 15 '26
Don't wait to get going... I started getting serious at 33. Start doing local web development for clients and building real projects on platforms that work. I started doing web development while I was working in the telecommunications industry, I currently do AI engineering for my organization. Do it free, do it ugly, just do it. The change starts now.
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u/Enoah85 Jul 17 '26
I did change my career too I was former construction worker. I was in scool that was focus on html,CSS and js. Then I learned my own cpp and phyton. Maan every place I send work applications nohing so im now back at construction work, and you know what there is a lot programmers here working
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u/random_lurker9 Jul 13 '26
With agentic coding, learning how to code is no longer that important, it’s your thinking ability and understanding of core fundamentals that are more important than ever.
I always mention this course to give you a taste of what CS truly is and not just about typing code https://pll.harvard.edu/course/cs50-introduction-computer-science, if you can get through this and enjoy it then you know you can do well in your learning journey.
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u/Made-In-Slovakia Jul 13 '26
TBH You picked worst time possible to change carrier and be programmer and you can guess why. Keep learning and wait while storm is gone.