Absolutely not.

The thing with computer science is that it's always changing, so everyone has to keep learning it regardless of age or prior experience, or they'll risk getting left behind.

Yo man this isn't enders game

Nope, I'm almost 30 and just graduated BS of Computer Science after 7 years of on and off schooling.

22? Old? What?

I'm still learning complex stuff and I'm double that.

Not even remotely.

That's how old I was when I started pursuing it seriously instead of just dabbling. Two decades and change later and it's still a choice I don't regret.

The basics are fairly straightforward and the field is wide, deep, and mutable enough that everyone's always picking up new things anyway. The only thing that'll make you different from your peers is the ratio of how many birthdays you've celebrated v. how much direct experience you have. Thankfully that metric is spread out far enough amongst CS folks that it's only useful as a point of conversational amusement and has no bearing on one's ability to do the actual work.

Fuck no, do what you love and what calls to you. If you haven’t found anything yet, you need to broaden your horizons.

It’s much more cut and dry than most people think. All these questions have to do more with you and what you’re willing to do than the logistics. You’ll almost always be able to work logistics out eventually so focus on the you part to make sure your “vehicle” is suitable for the terrain

no, but at 23 you'd wish you started at 22

as the saying goes the best time to start was when you were 6 the second best time is now

Go for it my man (or your gender-aligned equivalent term)! At that age, you can still hang out with your classmates without it being weird, so you can still build connections like everyone else. Even if you were 40 though you could still do it, networking would be harder though.

22 is not old, you will be fine!

I don't understand why you would think 22 is too old? Am I missing something?

I'm in my late 40s and I just got a bachelor's degree. I just started a masters program. It's never too late.

Don't ever, and I mean ever, let anyone tell you that you're too old to try something new. If anyone ever does, know, deep in your heart, that person is insecure and afraid of being their authentic self. Go forth, try new things, learn new knowledge, find out you don't like things, sometimes get frustrated, and discover the things that make life worth living for you. You will be so much happier if you set aside what anyone else will think of you and focus on "This interests me"

Not at all. This might be useful, https://teachyourselfcs.com. Have a think about what you want to do with it after learning. I was quite happy not learning CS and just coding instead!

You're never too old to learn.

I started when I was 35, decided to switch careers from being cnc miller to a .net programmer. Now I'm a senior in a big company (3 job in this field, 2.5 years back to back professionally). Now I'm 38, almost 39 - so yeah, never to late to start!

You are never old to learn new things!!!

Yes. 22 is too old. /s

not at all. i fell into computing in my mid 20s. somehow i managed to learn enough to get myself hired at one of the largest technology companies in the world where i've now been over 20 years.

has it been easy? definitely not. without that classic computer science degree my peers have i've had to be scrappier and move faster to be on top of emerging tech where the playing field is a little more equal. i can this "surfing" the tech.

since i started i've participated in the birth of the internet, mobile, public cloud, big data, startups and now ai.

if you love it you can make it happen - just be realistic and stay scrappy ❤️

Of course not, I didn’t get my degree until I was 32 (Army and general immaturity stopped me from going until I was 26)

I’ve now done the gamut from being a web dev to desktop apps to API development and currently a senior devops engineer. I’ve worked for big companies like Microsoft and small non-profits in the healthcare space.

I guess what I’m saying is you have decades ahead of you, fill it with the work you find interesting. Our field is ever changing and has so many niches and specialties. The work you start out doing will probably not be where you end up. Always be learning.

If it's something you're passionate about, you're never too old.

Some people go to law school or medical school in their 40’s. Some folks complete degrees in their 50’s or later. You’re never too old to pursue an education.

In 4 years, you will be 26. That will happen regardless of your decision. But you can choose now whether you will be a 26-year-old with a CompSci degree, or a 26-year-old without one.

(It's also pretty common in IT to see people go back to formal education to update their skills)

Where are you from? This is a strange sentiment from my perspective. I didn't even know what I wanted to do when I was 22. But I had the privilege of growing up in a country that doesn't burden youth with high interest university debt. I appreciate that in some countries you need to get a job as soon as you finish studying to pay loans etc. To answer your question specifically, no, 22 is not too old to start studying computer science.

The answer to is X years too old to start Y activity is almost always no.

Absolutely not! I started at 25 next to my it job, best decision ever. Tough though, already had a kid and 2nd one was born during.

Not even close. Started a CS degree 7 years ago at 28 and am a director of engineering now, if it’s what you wan to do go for it. I will give a warning that the market isn’t amazing right now, and people getting into it just because they see the salaries is flooding the entry level positions. If you’re motivated and excited about building software you’ll be fine, but something to be aware of.

I've been a professional software engineer for over ten years now. I didn't study anything to do with computers until I was 20; I'd been aiming for a different career and was halfway through a degree before I discovered I didn't enjoy it and wasn't getting very good grades, so I swapped.

While at uni, I was part of the student mentor program where I did teaching assistant work for the lower years. One of the students in the lab group I assisted was a guy in his forties who'd seen his factory job automated away and decided if computers were going to take his job, he'd go learn how to work with computers and move into the sector that was creating jobs rather than removing them. He was a good student and picked things up quickly. I have every confidence he's still out there doing well as an engineer.

22 is a perfectly fine age to start. If you've got the right attitude - the desire and motivation to focus on your studies and put in the work - you'll do great.

One thing worth being aware of beforehand though is how a lot of your studying might go. The professor I assisted in those labs told me about an observation that's been made in the teaching profession, and I saw it in action myself. A lot of computer science and programming is about finding the mental model that helps you understand what's happening, how the computers work. Until you find it, you'll be stuck. Then, something will click, and it'll make sense. The professor told me they don't see the usual bell curve of grades - they see two. One cluster of students at the bottom who don't get it, and one higher up who understand. A lot of learning computing is less of a linear progression and more a process of running into the wall until you chance upon the particular explanation or analogy or perspective that works for the way you think, and then suddenly that particular concept is easy, and it's onto the next one. This series of little clicks is how you progress.

Once you've got a few core concepts down it's easier to work out how new things fit into the mental model you're constructing, but be prepared for the early bits to have some frustrating periods where it feels like you aren't getting anywhere. Stick at it, and look around for other resources, other books or tutorials, other people to explain it their way. I frequently saw a student look totally clueless at my explanation, but another student who'd understood what I said would paraphrase it slightly differently, and that was all it took for the clueless student to suddenly understand and pass the exercise. That lightbulb moment is as fun to experience yourself as it is to bring about in others. You just have to hang in there until it happens.

This reminds me of:

An Entire Generation is Studying for Jobs that Won’t Exist

AI is taking over a lot of jobs, now it is coming for the writers who wrote about “machines taking over the world.”

By Mohit Pandey

TLDR: The increasing capabilities of AI are making many jobs obsolete, including those that require coding. Hollywood writers are protesting the use of AI in scriptwriting, as they believe it diminishes their role and creativity. The Writers Guild of America (WGA) is negotiating proper attribution and copyright issues regarding generative AI technology. Some argue that computer science degrees will become more important as understanding AI systems will be crucial. However, economists suggest that AI will displace jobs over time rather than causing instant mass unemployment. The need for humans to be trained in AI to be unbiased and proficient is emphasized. The disruption caused by AI is evident in layoffs across various industries. The potential of AI to eliminate jobs is a concern, but others believe it can create new job opportunities. IBM, for example, has announced it will replace 7,800 roles with AI. The future of jobs remains uncertain, but instead of rejecting AI, industries should consider incorporating it to enhance their work.

It's never too old to get into anything dude, just do what you like!

In a word, no. In a longer word, noooooo.