[caymanjim]

> Also I wonder if I'll still be able to do this when I'm in my 40s or 50s. My parents always taught me it gets tougher to find a job as you get older. Obviously someone that's good will always find, but I wonder in general how aging will apply to tech.

I work for 2-3 years and take anywhere from 6-18 months off in between jobs. I'm pushing 50 and it hasn't been a problem.

I hear the ageism claim all the time, but I've seen no evidence of it whatsoever. I have no problem finding a job when I put myself on the market, usually within a few weeks at most. Many of the people I work with are in their 40s and 50s. I've never heard or seen any age discrimination.

I occasionally run into people in their 50s who haven't learned anything new in decades, but they're always working. Sometimes they express fear that they won't be able to find a new job. In all these cases, it's warranted, but also deserved. Regardless of your age, if you're not keeping up with the technology trends, you don't belong in the game. You don't need to chase the latest flavor, but if you're a software engineer, you'd better keep up with at least some modern tech stacks. That applies regardless of age.

[ryandrake]

Yea, I'm closing in on 50 and I would be terrified of just "taking a break" without another job lined up. Despite what you hear here about tech workers being in high demand, and companies just handing out job offers, I wonder how much of that takes into account the Valley's well-known ageism. My last job search (about 3 years ago) took about a year and resulted in one offer which I gratefully took.

[themdonuts]

Excellent insight. Thanks!