Am I to old to retrain at over 40?

Rob,

It is absolutely doable, regardless of age! People of all ages, from young children to elders, are learning to code and are building useful, interesting things all the time! As with anything else, if you dedicate yourself seriously to learning, and constantly practice and use the information that you're absorbing, you will retain it and before long it will become second nature.

Naturally, everybody works differently, and everybody has a different amount of time that they can dedicate to extracurricular things like learning a new skill, but again, if you keep at it, you can definitely succeed. For myself, I was studying with Treehouse, Codecademy, and a variety of books from the O'Reilly Media Head First series for a while, and now I work as a professional Web Developer at a firm in my city and do freelance work on the side. I had begun with Codecademy and books (learning C#, actually...interesting move...), probably for a year or so, but very off and on, not consistently, etc., so didn't retain much of anything. Then I spent 4-8 hours about 5 days a week with Treehouse for ~6 months and was able to switch careers! So if you really buckle down and study and practice, you can start working on this stuff in a relatively short amount of time, and without the hassle and ridiculous cost of a formal education at a university.

It takes different amounts of time for everybody, but don't get disheartened! It isn't simple stuff, and really is like learning a new language like Spanish or French, but it'll click with enough repetition and focus. And when you do get stuck and need help? That's what the great community here on the Treehouse forums is for!

Happy coding! :)

Erik

I think this is something anybody can learn at any age. No reason not to do it. Just be prepared to commit to it and go for it. A few short hours a week will net you solid results in the first year. Lots of factors like how easy it comes to you, hours spent learning, projects worked on, etc will set your timeline for employment, but I bet if you commit you could be seriously employable at a junior level in probably 6-9 months.

Certainly not! This isn't about front-end web development, but here are some stories of people learning iOS programming later in life. Their stories should help assure you that in your 40s isn't even close to "too old"!

That said, learning new things (tech related or otherwise) is hard and takes lots of time and dedication. I think Treehouse says 6 months of solid work is typical for going from 0 to job using the coursework here.

Good luck, and happy coding!

I hope that 40 isn't too old! Otherwise I'm wasting my time here. I'm 56!

You're never to old to to get new skills or knowledge. At Treehouse you'll get a solid foundation. With practice or at-work training you are getting experience. In my opinion you have to be excited about what you're doing, like to get new skill all the time, be open-minded for new technologies and skills. To cut a long story short, Foundation + Practice + Open-Mindedness + Loving-What-You're-Doing = Rob Rulz

You are just on time! Come on, it's not about the age, its about what you know and what you can give in a company or project. Also, remember this is a virtual world. You can get a job as a freelance web developer without even tell your age.