
Ask HN: Can You Start Coding at 25 and Still Be the Top Coder in a Decade? - FahadUddin92
If someone picks coding at 25 and puts in his best effort for a decade, can he reach the coding skills of the top 1% programmers?
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g6nhe9twPd66
Nope, because unlike the 15-24's, you're old enough to realize you're not in
the 1% because you never will be. My recommendation? Lie.

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lordkrandel
Please define your success style. There are versatile programmers who can
handle all the stack and mentor others, developer who deliver overly great
products even under constraints, programmers who make lots of money, and
specialists who are a point of reference for a specific technology. There also
are very good all-around developers like John Carmack who also made lots of
money... But also Thompson and Ritchie fall in the 1% for sure in my opinion.
If you have the problem solving and algorythmic skills you need to be a good
developer, age is not really important.

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NeedMoreTea
Like winning a lottery, or reaching Olympic 100m standard; some can, 99%
won't.

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itronitron
Absolutely, ten years is plenty of time to be in the top 1%, which I take to
mean deep knowledge of several technologies, strong analytical/debugging
skills, ability to add to and innovate with cutting edge technologies, and
preference to get stuff done without fuss or muss.

