Am I too old (29) to get into database administration?

No….never too old !

Nope. Most of the IT DB managers I work with are in the 40’s.

Never to old man, go for it.

Not too old by any means…

It sounds like you’d only have about 50 years to get it right.

Once you get the basics, the rest is technology specific and just like any job you’ll need to keep up with what’s current. Just make sure you explore the other areas that you enjoy as well, picking a job off of a list isn’t necessarily the best way to get a career you’ll love so make sure it’s for you. There are tons of tutorials online for free, do some basics on your own and see if you find the work interesting.

Good luck with it.

Unless you are able to go to school full time, keep your day job and go to night school. Try to take as many classes as you can handle, since the industry changes rapidly.

Thanks, everyone. I guess my question is more about timing than age. I’m more concerned about the technology changing than anything else, i.e., by the time I master it, I will still be four years behind everyone who had been doing it the whole time I was not. Maybe that was clear, but, maybe it was not.

Another question I have is, well, what are some ways to get into this field (while working full time). My answer would be community college night school, obtain certifications and self-study.

@YARNLADY That’s what I’m worried about—the industry changing rapidly.

Should I go for it? It’s either this or law school. Did anyone read this?

Take the steps to get it done. And, welcome to fluther. We’re good at supporting good folks.

You are never too young to learn new things. Especially in technology. Many people make complete career changes at all kinds of ages.
If you have a pc or sandbox environment to play on you can learn anything.
You can get free trials of all Microsoft products if you want to lean that way. There are open source versions of other OS and database and web design software. mySQL is free, joomla is free, and so on. VM is also out there for trial to creat your own virtual environments to play with and crash and burn if you want.
If you truly are interested in this, it is there for your taking. Let me know and I provide you with some links and direction if you desire.
One thing I have learned is you can learn anything you put your mind to and there is nobody that knows everything.

Go for it, and good luck!

Hell NO!

I’m 51 and have changed avocations many times over.
The key to ‘success’ is re-inventing yourself, over & over & over again!

Not much has changed in the last ten years I have been doing this stuff. Sure, there has been small changes but it isn’t like you wake up one day and everything you know is worthless.

I think you’re really young still. I know lots of people your age and older still in school!!

And I’ve heard of lots of people every age always wanting to further their education, for a better job!

I guess you already had that answered from above, but I thought I’d throw it out there anyways. ;)

Thanks, all! You have all been exceedingly supportive, and I appreciate it!

If anyone has any specifics as to how to break in, feel free to private message me. You’d be changing a life!

Thanks for the warm welcome, again. Cheers.

It is never too late, but never choose a field if you see that other people are earning a lot from it. Never play a game which you find hard to understand. If you love programming than don’t think of your age, go for satisfaction. A Quote to motivate you

Strive to be successful rather to be rich
“M.Farhat”

I am in IT, I have been in IT since I was 18 (27 now) I went to college for this stuff, and now I work for a very large company I am positive you all have heard of. If you are proficient, there is no reason you can’t be a DBA. What do you do now?

I agree with @MartinDep. Don’t do it just because it pays a lot of money. Not everyone is cut out to do that kind of work. Being an underwater welder also pays a lot of money, and is probably easier to get into if you are good with your hands. I am a nerd. I was born to do this computer crap. :)

Of course not!