“I thought I was too old, too broke, and too behind to learn a new skill. Learning to code at 35 was the best ‘screw it’ decision I ever made.”
Listen, I know exactly what you’re thinking. You see all these 19-year-old coding prodigies on LinkedIn and think the ship has sailed. You’re juggling tuition, a side hustle, and maybe a roommate who won’t do her dishes, and now I’m talking about learning to code? I get it.
But girl, let me keep it 100 with you. I was 35, working a job that was slowly draining my soul, watching my friends buy houses while I was stressing over my credit card bill. I felt stuck. Learning to code wasn’t some magical, overnight fix. It was my ladder out of a hole I didn’t even know how I fell into.
The Lies We Tell Ourselves About Coding
First, let’s call out the noise. You think you need to be a math genius. You think you need a fancy computer science degree that costs $100k. You think it’s all dudes in hoodies who’ve been doing this since they were 12. Sis, that is the biggest scam ever sold.
The real barrier? It’s the story in your head. It’s the “I’m not techy” narrative you’ve been telling yourself since you couldn’t figure out your grandma’s DVD player. It’s the fear of looking stupid in front of a screen full of text that looks like gibberish. I cried the first time I tried to install Python. For real.
💡 Quick Tip
Stop saying “I’m not a tech person.” You navigate 7 social media apps, curate a feed, edit videos, and manage your digital life. You ARE a tech person. You just haven’t applied that skill to coding yet.
And let’s talk about time. Between classes, your part-time job, and trying to have a social life, you have zero hours, right? I thought so too. Until I realized I was spending 2 hours a night mindlessly scrolling TikTok, comparing my life to everyone else’s highlight reel. What if you took 30 minutes of that scroll time and invested it in yourself?
💊 What Works: Logitech K380 Multi-Device Bluetooth Keyboard – This was my first “serious” purchase. It connects to my phone, tablet, and laptop. I could practice coding snippets anywhere—waiting for class, on the bus, during my lunch break. It made it feel real without breaking the bank.
What Actually Works: The No-BS Blueprint
Forget the 6-month bootcamps that cost as much as a car. You don’t need that pressure right now. You need a sustainable, low-cost entry point. Here’s exactly what I did, and what you can start TODAY.
I picked ONE language to start. Everyone argues about this, but I’m telling you: start with Python. Why? The syntax (that’s just a fancy word for the way it’s written) reads almost like English. It’s used for everything from data analysis to building websites to automation. I used freeCodeCamp and Codecademy for the absolute basics. Just 15 minutes a day.
Then, I found a tiny, stupid problem in my own life to solve. I was manually renaming a bunch of image files for a side project. It took forever. I Googled “how to rename multiple files using Python.” I followed a tutorial, copied the code, and ran it. It worked. The rush was unreal. I had just automated a boring task. That’s the hook.
The #1 job in the US for salary & demand is in tech. The median salary is over $100k. Let that sink in.
Build things that interest YOU. Don’t just follow a generic “build a calculator” tutorial. Are you into skincare? Build a simple program that tracks your routine. Obsessed with your Spotify Wrapped? Look up a tutorial on how to analyze your listening data with Python. Connect it to your life.
The Truth Nobody Tells You
Okay, lean in. The secret isn’t being the best coder in the room. The secret is consistency and learning how to Google like a pro. I’m dead serious. 70% of coding is knowing how to phrase your problem so you can find the answer on Stack Overflow (that’s like Reddit for developers).
You will get stuck. Your code will break in ways that make zero sense. You will want to throw your laptop. This is not a sign you’re failing. This IS the process. The skill you’re building is problem-solving and resilience, not just memorizing commands.
“Coding didn’t just change my career. It changed how I move through the world. I stopped seeing problems as dead-ends and started seeing them as puzzles I could actually solve.”
And about the “brogrammer” culture? It’s real, but it’s changing fast. There are incredible communities for women and non-binary folks in tech. Finding your tribe is non-negotiable. They’ll be the ones who answer your “dumb” question at 2 AM when your code won’t run.
This is the kind of stuff women talk about inside TechMae every single day. No judgment, just real ones keeping it real. We share coding resources, celebrate each other’s first deployed websites, and vent about buggy code.
Related: This post is a must-read for women on their journey. Because you can’t learn if you’re running on empty.
Start Here: Your 30-Minute Launch Plan
Don’t overthink it. Just do this one thing. Right now, on your phone or laptop.
Why This Works:
✅ It’s free and takes less time than one episode of a show.
✅ You get instant feedback. You see something happen because of YOUR code.
✅ It proves to yourself that you can. That’s the most important step.
1. Go to Codecademy’s free Python course.
2. Create a free account (use your spam email if you want).
3. Complete the first module, “Hello World.” It takes 15 minutes.
4. That’s it. You’ve officially written your first lines of code.
Bookmark it. Come back tomorrow. Do the next 15-minute module. That’s how you build the muscle. Not with giant, scary leaps, but with tiny, consistent steps.
You might also love this article – one of our most shared. It shows how skills like coding can turn into real income, fast.
This Is Your Sign to Stop Doing It Alone
Women inside TechMae have been exactly where you are. We’re sharing free coding resources, forming study groups, and hyping each other up through every bug and every breakthrough. Come find your people.
