nah, age is definitely not important, but experience is - the number of hours you spend hammering out a piece of field, trying to solve a particular problem using the language you’re using etc.
Yes! Yes! You said it! Trying to solve a particular problem is KEY!
I ended up having to pick up SQL because a project I wanted desperately to get working required it. It came with about half the stuff the full thing would have, and was missing several zones I desperately wanted. I *did* have access to some of the data, from a previous database...in an older format!
Cue the crash course in SQL...all it took was being angry and aggravated enough and sick of the fact no one else seemed to prioritize the things I wanted, and I just sat down and taught myself how to do it.