You start coding at a very young age!
You're never too young to start programming. According to the latest HackerRank survey, a quarter of developers started coding before they were legally allowed to drink in Austria.
More specifically, 21.1 percent of HackerRank respondents between the ages of 11 and 15 started coding. Another 4.8 percent did so before they turned 10. An additional 49.6 percent did not start writing code until they were between the ages of 16 and 20. Almost a quarter (24.6 percent) only started software development after the age of 21. Thus, this group of participants almost belongs to the "geriatrics" of the 39,000 developers surveyed :-)
For those who may not be familiar with HackerRank: HackerRank is one of the leading technology companies from Palo Alto with a focus on "Competitive Programming Challenges". The portal was launched in 2009 and has a community of more than 3 million international developers.
are you older Don't worry, as HackerRank quickly diagnosed in its study, older age is not an obstacle to your professional growth. Developers in particular who only started programming after the age of 26 were able to convince with their rapid growth in their careers. 36 percent have held a senior or lead position since the beginning of their career.
Developers of all ages already have established opinions about the programming languages they use. "Younger developers like new languages like GO and Scala more than older developers," HackerRank said in its report. With JavaScript, which is already 22 years old, the situation is reversed. Younger developers like this language more than older ones.
A good work-life balance is extremely important across all age groups. In this study, even further training and development opportunities were rated somewhat lower than the desire for a good work-life balance. The study also reflects that developers expect benefits and perks that make their lives easier.
The way to attract and retain IT talent is clearly to offer flexible working hours, good training programs and a good work-life balance. The young age at which many developers start coding proves that money and employee benefits or the opportunity to work at a particular company are not the primary drivers for learning software development. It's all about the software itself. In conclusion, I would like to say that you are never too young or too old to write your first lines of code.
