I work in a senior-only consulting S-Corp (most devs hold equity). I'm 43 and everyone is nearly 10 years older than me. No one has ever been laid off, companies fired FTEs and kept all our guys during covid panic, and every one of our clients will take everyone from our group that they can afford or we will let them have (the consultants get to choose clients).

The amount of money they happily pay for us is crazy. We work along FTEs in all these companies for years who make a fraction of what we do. Companies take a diverse approach, stringing along FTEs under the auspices of being a special FTE with a career ahead of them at the company, and they hire a drove of contractors (permenantly) that cost twice as much and who are already wise to the FTE/career half-truth.

We get paid for every hour worked and are restricted to 40hours...at twice the rate of an FTE.