Is It Too Late to Start a Programming Career at 40 and Succeed in the US as a Mexican Developer?

I am 33, I live in Mexico, and I want to switch careers as I just realized that programming is what I would like to do for the rest of my life.

My Career Transition Plan

I'm planning to:

- Study a 4-year bachelor's degree in computer science.
- Help/contribute for free with projects for local software companies.
- Learn/write code at least 15-20 hours every week while I get my degree.
- Perfect my English along the way.
- Do some personal software projects.
- Once I get my degree and have some money saved, apply to Harvard Extension School and get an MLA in Information Technology with a concentration in software development (mostly online, with 2 summers in Boston being mandatory).
- Study really hard to get good/better than average grades along the journey.
- Once I get my MLA, look for those US companies that hire software developers from Mexico (staying here would mean getting paid like US$1500 a month for the rest of my life, no matter how good I am compared to the US$6000 they usually offer in the US to good Mexican developers).
- Get hired and move with my wife and little girl.
- Work really hard, be a good teammate, be responsible, and get the job done nicely for my employer, and be loyal in order to be successful.
- Be a good citizen, be an asset to the country, and not a liability.
- Offer a better future to my wife and daughter while I'm doing what I love to do.

By the time I'm really good and start searching for real paid work in the US as an experienced programmer (I'm Mexican and I live in Mexico), I'll be 40. Is it difficult to be hired in the US software industry as a good programmer at that age?

Am I missing something?

Thanks a lot for the advice.

There is nothing wrong with doing what you want to do, but be prepared for a lot of hardship. Managing family, education, and personal finance all at once is easier said than done. On top of that, age is always a barrier in the software industry; the younger, the better is the mantra (although discrimination based on age is prohibited from a legal standpoint). However, as it is famously said, "impossible is nothing but I Am Possible".

Regards

I entirely agree with the above. I also appreciate your courage, determination, and the fact that you have planned meticulously and intend to do what you wish to. It is never too late to "Be What You Want to Be," and there are several equal opportunity employers who do not discriminate on account of age. Moreover, you'll still have the option to be an entrepreneur or be "self-employed."

Best wishes.