Ever experience ageism directly in tech? I did.

Question

I am in my early 50s and a few years ago was interviewing for dev jobs (so 48ish). It was the first time I experienced direct ageism. I was looking for an IC role as I needed a break after a CTO stint. I had people make comments about my age (why do you want to code still at your age, etc). I had one interviewer laugh when my camera turned on - I guess to see an old (to him) bald guy pop up. Anyway it was more than a little upsetting even though it all worked out in the end. For whatever reason I find myself thinking lately about our industry's flaws and what can be done. So my question - have you ever experienced ageism in our industry?

gladiatr72 · Accepted Answer

Yeah. Linked In dragged me through four rounds of interviews and a coding test.
To their credit, they did want to make an offer. I am just not, and never will be good management material. I politely suggested they mention such things on the job posting. I did consider that maybe I had somehow not met their expectations, but I asked (because, well, I do that sort of thing) and was assured that was not the case.
So, maybe? I dunno if it was age related, but I know what I'm good at, what I can be competent at (if needed) and I know those areas where the ship must be sinking if you're asking me. At this rate, and for having a few decades of experience, it rather seems like what would (should?) have been the ones to replace us might end up not actually being able (or interested) in doing so. Might end up being like those old Cobol programmers being pulled out of the nursing homes for the 2000 panic.