Engineering (to me) is a craft; not just a vocation.
I also think that the software industry’s Ponce de Leon obsession might be part of the problem.
Younger folks tend to “dream big,” which I think may be a factor behind the ageism.
“They haven’t had some grizzled old fart tell them that it can’t be done!” is the argument that I’ve heard.
Tru dat, but one of the things that older folks have, is experience getting things done, often, highly optimized, polished, and of excellent quality. That tends to require a lot of tenacity and patience.
Shipping is boring.
Ever watch a building go up? A good prefab looks complete after three months, but doesn’t open for another nine months. It looks awesome and shiny, but is still behind a rent-a-fence. What gives?
That’s because all that interior work; the finish carpentry, the drywall, the painting, etc., take forever, and these are the parts of the building that see everyday use, so they need to be absolutely spot-on. The outside is mostly a pigeon toilet. It doesn’t need to be as complete; a solid frame and watertight is sufficient. They just needed it to keep the rain out, while the really skilled craftspeople got their jobs done.
I like to make stuff polished, tested and complete. I don’t like making pigeon toilets.