[desertedisland]

I work at a high (senior) level as a (Javascript) developer and I'm 48. I'm not aware of being discriminated against - I never have trouble finding work (and I'm a contractor so I change jobs frequently). Perhaps that is part of it: it doesn't cross my mind that I might be discriminated against; it doesn't cross my mind to treat anyone younger than me different from anyone else. So my attitude to people is open: I am not defensive or resentful. I'm in the UK which has, as far as I can tell, less of an ageism problem than the US.

If I'm honest I'm probably a little bit slower mentally with very challenging, complex problems than I was 15 years ago. But, I work with some of the highest paid people in the industry and I have never once thought to myself that I was out of my depth or slow technically compared to my colleagues - regardless of their age.

And there are real, big advantages to age / experience:

- Technically I have great breadth of experience: I'm (mainly) a front end developer but I've worked commercially in Node, C++, Java and PHP; I'm confident with server + database administration and dev-ops, complex application architecture and scaling. I'm the one that the senior managers turn to when they have problems / doubts / questions because I solve problems / answer questions for them - regardless of the tech stack.

- I'm more mature emotionally and have far better interpersonal skills and experience, meaning I am far more effective and pleasant to be with in a team. This is a huge (way more important than technical skills) thing - particularly in today's work climate where it is not acceptable to be 'toxic'. I am experienced about getting my ideas across and giving feedback without being an asshole; I am unfazed if people are stressing out / blaming / ignoring / not listening to me. I am not egotistical, insecure or emotional and I have enough experience with office politics to know what is happening and what people are about.