Can an older person learn a programming language

For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))

"After the age of 55, my company no longer provides training for its staff to help in their career development and day to day work. It considers that by this point in their career, employees are fixed in post and that it's not a good investment to train them further".

Well at least that policy was honsetly stated ... and re-told to me by a very bright greyhaired employee who WAS on a course I was giving - through a mixture of his own refusal to take the first paragraph lying down, the necessity for him to learn the topic, and because we only add 50 pounds per trainee per day for extra students that you add on private courses.

If you remain bright and sound of mind, you are never to old to learn. And even if you're not quite a pin-sharp as you were in your youth, the benefits of age and experience make you much more efficient and focused on what you're doing; you'll be overall more effective and not less. It's a joy for me to train people half my age - AND it's a joy for me to train the occasional person who's perhaps even retired at 65 from a regular job and is getting involved in something new - perhaps as a second career, perhaps as a volunteer for a good cause he/she supports, but certainly for the pleasure it brings.

{Index under - Senior Citizen, OAP, Open Source training, Perl, Python, PHP, Programming, Web - and the answer is YES you can ;-) ]
(written 2005-08-10, updated 2006-06-05)

Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles

G907 - Well House Consultants - Recruitment and Career Development
  [116] The next generation of programmer - (2004-11-13)
  [198] A new skill may not be quick and easy - (2005-02-02)
  [253] Finding the right holes - (2005-03-21)
  [285] What career opportunities for web designers - (2005-04-20)
  [389] Tough Love - (2005-07-25)
  [503] 10 years C# knowledge please - (2005-11-23)
  [585] Looking for Python staff - (2006-02-01)
  [587] Job vacancy - double agent wanted - (2006-02-02)
  [722] I'm answering a job applicant - (2006-05-16)
  [729] Career development advice - (2006-05-23)
  [751] Want to be a technical trainer in the UK? - (2006-06-08)
  [759] Watch your Google profile - (2006-06-13)
  [849] Staff Meeting - (2006-08-30)
  [1963] Best source to learn Java (or Perl or PHP or Python) - (2008-12-28)
  [1967] LinkedIn - Thrice Asked, and joined. - (2008-12-30)
  [2109] Why most training fails ... - (2009-03-30)
  [2255] Past PHP delegates / others - coding help needed for next 3 months - (2009-06-23)
  [2294] Can you learn to program in 4 days? - (2009-07-16)
  [3440] Research is exciting. But should routine be automated? - (2011-09-14)
  [3490] How not to call when job seeking ... - (2011-10-20)
  [3594] Back to Uni - (2012-01-26)
  [3740] Looking and Learning - even on Holiday - (2012-05-22)

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Theft of training material

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Functions and commands with dangerous names

Some other Articles

Bristol Balloon Festival
Javascript examples (some PHP and MySQL too)
Reading a news or blog feed (RSS) in your PHP page
Functions and commands with dangerous names
Can an older person learn a programming language
Theft of training material
Assignment, equality and identity in PHP
Horse's Mouth is a year old
How to check that a string contains a number in Tcl
Full circle - made it back to an old haunt

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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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