"Old techies never die, they just can't get hired over 40"
baycitizen.org
baycitizen.org
For those of us that are somewhat north of 35, it can be a constant struggle to stay relevant in a culture that demands long hours and constant devotion to the company über alles. Once you pick up a wife and maybe some children, companies start to lose interest in you and you find your experience and relevance being downvoted if you ever have to change jobs.
Age discrimination is real and unfortunately, many feel that it's just dandy as long as it never touches anyone you might care about.
I have a wife and 4 kids and I have never been unemployed for longer than a week and that was between jobs and by choice. I just don't see the discrimination that others talk about. Of my peers, most that started when I did, have left the industry or have chosen to specialize, what I call pasture.
When you choose to specialize there is a risk that comes along with it. Take for example someone that decides to specialize in IOS development solely, at some point the world is going to move on, when it does someone that has choose to specialize has to take it upon themselves to retool before the end of the road. A more relevant example would be a Flash specialist, I see them complaining about the state of things, on the web, all the time, but it is a reality of the market.
It's the reason I have always stayed a generalist. My experience may be abnormal, but among the age group that started in the industry with me, I and one other developer peer are the lone survivors most others where lost due to opting out of the industry or specializing in technologies that died along the way. The two of us that stayed relevant are still going strong.