I’m in my early 40s and got my first software engineering title about a year ago. Before that I was at a big company doing IT/analyst work that had some development work and I’d say that’s where I really sharpen my coding skills, even though it wasn’t my official function, there.

I also did a boot camp and got an associates degree in computer science. So, The work experience and formal training combined with the fact that I’ve been fascinated with programming ever since I was a kid writing Basic programs on my IBM PC seems to have been the magic combo, for me. You definitely don’t need to have the conventional path to succeed in this field