Is 30 Too Old to Learn Software Engineering?

Thirty is definitely not too old to learn software engineering, and in some ways, age can be an advantage. You already have years of experience learning, and you understand how you do it best. You know what learning environment is most successful for you, you are clearer about your goals, and you are motivated to make a change. 

Why Learn Software Engineering at 30?

If you are in your thirties and taking stock of your career, you might be wondering if you are too old to learn a tech-heavy subject like software engineering. Stop and ask yourself some questions:

• Are you comfortable using computers and learning new programs?
• Are you creative?
• Are you curious about what people do online and why?
• Do you have the patience for troubleshooting and debugging?

If you can answer "Yes!" to most or all of these questions, you can can definitely learn software engineering skills no matter your age. You probably have a lot of experience using software and websites and know what works and what doesn't. It's a short step to learning how to code programs and build websites that are effective and easy to use. 

If you want to move to a new career, software engineering is a good choice. Software Engineers earn an average of $110,000 a year in the U.S., and the job market is strong and likely to stay that way for a while. As the internet continues to expand at an astounding rate, there is no shortage of jobs for Software Engineers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, software engineering jobs will grow by 22% over the next decade, which is much faster than average for most occupations. With demand for online presence continuing to climb, software development job prospects are likely to stay strong.

How Long Will it Take to Learn Software Engineering?

How long it will take to learn software engineering depends on how much time you can devote to studying, how focused you are, and how motivated you are to learn. Age has nothing to do with it. You can complete a full-time software engineering certificate course in five months.

The quickest and most efficient way to learn software engineering is by taking a certificate training course. These courses are offered by professional development and training programs, like Noble Desktop. If you can fit it into your schedule, you can take full-time classes and finish sooner. If that doesn't work for you, many companies also offer part-time classes on evenings and weekends to help you accomplish your goals while working and taking care of your other responsibilities.

Ways to Make Learning Software Engineering Easier and Quicker

When it comes to learning software engineering quickly, the fastest way is to take classes. You can take software engineering classes in person or live online from anywhere in the world. If you are comfortable with in-person instruction but can't find a class near you, live online classes have a set-up similar to in-person instruction. You have a real-time, remote instructor who can answer questions and share your screen to show you how to code. In addition, you get the same level of attention as in in-person classes. 

Another way to speed up your software engineering education is to use the many free resources available. Noble Desktop offers many free videos on its website like Intro to React or Intro to Node.js. There are many other free tutorials on YouTube to help you explore topics. Podcasts and blogs can also help you get a leg up on learning software engineering.

Once you have some skills, one of the best ways to learn software engineering more quickly is to try some coding exercises or build your own website. You can try different libraries and plugins and see what they do. 

Learn Software Engineering Skills with Noble Desktop

Noble Desktop's Software Engineering Certificate can give you the skills you need to start a new career in the software development industry. This program is divided into four sections: front end development, React Development, and Django (Python) Development. In this program, you will learn the most pivotal skills needed to secure a career in software and web development. The assignments in the course are designed to help you create a portfolio of projects, and the course also includes interview preparation, practice responding to common interview questions, how to polish your resume and LinkedIn profile, and tips for applying to jobs. 

Noble's Full Stack Web Development Certificate covers developing every aspect of a digital application or website. You’ll learn how to program the visual appearance of a web application (the front end) and the infrastructure that allows it to function (the back end) to create complete websites. In this course, you’ll learn how to use programming languages like HTML/CSS and JavaScript to program memorable, interactive websites. You’ll also use the MERN tech stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, and Node.js) to add databases, APIs, AWS and other server environments, and interactivity for those web applications. The Full-Stack Web Development Certificate provides students with a robust programming education that can help them break into the in-demand world of web development, software engineering, and computer science.

This is a project-oriented course that teaches students how to code a website from scratch. By the end of the course, you’ll have developed a portfolio of working web applications that you can take with you onto the job market. This course also includes portfolio and job search help. You can also attend Noble's SQL and WordPress Bootcamps for free as part of this certificate course.

If you prefer, you can take these Noble classes included in the certificates one at a time. Web Development with HTML & CSS covers building websites with HTML & CSS; creating multi-page websites with text, images, and graphics; styling with CSS; and uploading files using FTP. 

Advanced HTML & CSS includes important CSS concepts like positioning, advanced selectors, and relative type sizing. You will also learn to work with multiple background images, transparent color using RGBA, CSS gradients, and shadows. The course also covers creating animated effects with CSS transitions and transforms.

Flexbox, Grid, and Bootstrap covers laying out and aligning website content with CSS Flexbox. Learn CSS Grid to layout websites and Bootstrap to build layouts quickly.

JavaScript for Front End teaches you to make dynamic and engaging websites with JavaScript and GreenSock. Learn the basics of JavaScript and how to use free pre-made JavaScripts to add functionality. Create animated slideshows and build animated image enlargers.

Noble's Python Programming Bootcamp covers built-in data types and their behavior and Control Flow Statements, the programming essentials used across many languages. You’ll also learn how to professionally structure your programs and solve real-world challenges by creating objects in Object-Oriented Programming. In addition to covering these core programming concepts, we’ll also discuss the most common coding interview questions and demonstrate the best programming practices used by professionals. Throughout this course, you’ll practice these new skills by working on programming exercises with instructor guidance. By the end of this course, you’ll have a portfolio of projects and code samples on GitHub to show to employers.