It is the one minority that we all inevitably become. "Respect your elders" has all kinds of reason behind it.

I am 34 and have worked at various fortune 500s in the Midwest and there seems to be no issues here at all with regards to ageism.

My dad is a 64 year old programmer who has never put any effort outside of paid working hours to keep his skills up and he has never been without work for more than a couple months in 30 years.

I get slammed with LinkedIn recruiters every day. Most of the jobs aren't glamorous, but they are almost all 6 figure jobs and you can get a nice house in the city for 300k on up. Take your extra cash and go on a vacation or 2 in the dead of winter (maybe to sf even)

> At 32 yo, terrified I'll be in this situation soon.

I think people begin to become less tolerant of the indignities of the modern corporate atmosphere as one matures. Fortunately, one can distinguish oneself by building up IP, consulting, remote work, building assets, etc.

I'm 43. In my late 30s, I was worried, too. But, what surprised me was just how much impact turning 40 had. At 38, I was averaging maybe 10-15 software employers contacting me a week. Now, it's dropped to maybe 3 a week. And, the quality of recruiters has dropped, too. Just a few years ago, recruiters from well-known companies would contact me directly. Now, I only get recruiters from no-name recruitment firms.

Of course, a lot of other factors may be in play. Maybe recruitment just isn't as strong as it was a few years ago.

I'm currently interviewing currently in SF. It's a painful process. I can't tell if half of the companies are even serious.