At 40, making the decision to shift my career into IT, specifically as a game developer in the gambling niche, felt like both a bold and daunting step. After years of experience in other fields, I finally decided to follow a passion that had always been in the back of my mind—coding and creating games. However, transitioning into IT wasn’t as straightforward as I had imagined, especially when it came to landing my first job.
The first challenge I faced was preparing for my initial interview. While I had spent months learning to code, working through online courses, and building small personal projects, I realized I lacked the real-world experience that companies sought. My portfolio, although demonstrating a strong willingness to learn, was nowhere near as polished as those of younger candidates who had been in this field for years. During the interview, I was hit with a series of technical questions that seemed designed to test not just my knowledge but my ability to solve complex problems quickly. As a self-taught developer, the pressure made it difficult to showcase my skills under the time constraints. I left that first interview feeling overwhelmed, doubting my ability to compete with the younger, more experienced talent.
Another challenge was overcoming the bias that sometimes comes with being a newcomer at 40. Despite my enthusiasm and fresh perspective, many employers seemed hesitant to take a chance on someone without years of industry experience. I noticed that job descriptions often required several years of professional experience, which, as someone just entering the field, I couldn’t meet. This created a vicious cycle—without experience, I couldn’t get hired, and without being hired, I couldn’t gain the necessary experience.
One unexpected hurdle was keeping up with rapidly evolving technologies. The gambling niche, like much of the IT industry, is fast-paced, with new tools, languages, and frameworks emerging regularly. Even after landing a few interviews, I felt that I had to constantly study to keep up with the latest trends just to remain relevant. The learning curve was steep, and balancing that with personal life commitments wasn’t easy.
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