Yeah, except I have neither a university degree or teaching credential - both of which are required to teach in high school. And you don't get to teach, like, just one course. I love the thinking, bit its just not practical.

I'm fortunate in that if people don't know my age, they take me for 35 - 40ish. It depends on whether or not I'm clean shaven at the moment. I'm not greying up top yet. My retirement time frame is, at the moment, no less than 18 years. I intend to draw max SS, which means not filing for it til 69 1/2. Not that I mind - I'm sure ill enjoy a few months of doing nothing, then will go quietly to pieces unless I find something to do. Thanks all for your comments and encouragement!

Greetings! After spending more years that I care to discuss in a procession of unrewarding, soul crushing jobs, I am thinking of making a change to programming for my sunset years, and I'm looking for advice on the best ways to make that happen. A bit of background; in the late 80s I signed my life away for a student loan to attend a "technical college" where I learned Pascal, C, 8086 Assembly, dBase/Clipper, and some RPGIV. I was, however, never able to actually land a programming job, and since food and rent cost money, I moved on to other things. (I don't call the experience wasted, I met my wife there.) However, I'm just at that point where I am likely to go completely around the bend if I don't mmake a positive change. And while there seems to be a truckload of advice for younger people out there, I'm finding very little for older people such as myself. So, begging the indulgence of the gallery, I've some questions I wish to pose: 1. I am no spring chicken. While the word "junior" in a title would not bother me in the slightest, how likely are hiring managers going to be to hire a middle aged 'junior' programmer? 2. As near as I can tell, my best bet for languages would be C#, Java, C++, and JavaScript. Am I missing something there which would make me more employable? (of those 4, the only one I feel like I might struggle with is C++, not so much syntax wise, but just because of how rich the language is when used correctly.) 3. I am not above a boot camp style program with an ISA, but experiences with this soft of arrangement seem to be mixed. Can anyone who's actually gone that route relate their experiences? And would having a boot camp on my resume (as opposed to just being self taught) help or hinder my efforts? I'm sure that there's an important question I may not be asking, so I'll again beg your indulgence in that and ask that if something jumps out, please speak up. I also note that most of those who read this have jobs and responsibilities, so I understand if you don't drop everything to answer this. I honestly expect that the whole process is going to take at least a year, so its not like this is urgent. Meanwhile, I do thank you for your kind attention!

I'm convinced that were it ever to be studied honestly, we'd find out that 95% of the world's current problems were either caused or exacerbated by process honks trying to shoehorn trendy methodologies in everywhere. I also think that, sooner or later, some process monkey is going to figure out a way to position 6 Sigma, Agile, Business of Management, and open source in to a single super-methodology, which will cause the universe to BSOD.

5teveH wrote:

P.S. Has anyone ever wondered how Jack Bauer, (yes I know it's a different program), always manages to have it all sorted in exactly 24 hours? Surely there must have been times when he cracked it in 21 hours - and the last three episodes are him in bed sleeping? Or, after 24 hours, he's still tied up in the terrorists garage with Gaffa tape over his mouth?

1. Jack Bauer seems to lose phones every time he turns around, yet when someone hands him a phone, his contact list, including his personal contacts, always seems to be present. 2. If he does manage to hold on to the phone for a few hours, he's always using it, and using power hungry apps like GPS. So how is it that those phones managed to stay charged? 3. It never occurs to the bad guys, all of whom know who he is, to blow Jack's brains out before they try and take over the world? 4. Jack would be, in real life, the world's worst operator. How does anyone he works for not know this?