I'm an older (than you!) developer, but I have no special resources related to that. But for what it's worth, here's my experience.
I've found that nothing is really much different being an older developer compared to being a younger one, aside from two things: I have a lower tolerance for bullshit, and I have a much better handle on what my time is actually worth to employers.
While ageism is certainly a thing that has to be taken into account, I personally haven't found that the problem is unmanageable. I handle it by ensuring that my skillset is up-to-date (same as we have to do throughout our careers anyway), and by recognizing that certain parts of our industry will never welcome older developers. I don't bother with those companies, but they are a minority limited to certain cultural "islands". I am certain that I have been passed over with certain jobs because of my age, but nonetheless have never had difficulty finding good jobs that pay what I'm worth.
I also have developed a standard comeback when younger devs make disparaging comments about my age: "take a good look at me, because you will be me sooner than you think".
I'm in my mid-30s and facing the reality that I do not want to be a manager, but have a hard time picturing myself coding into my 60s. I'd be curious to hear more about what in your eyes separates "certain parts of our industry" that aren't suitable for older devs from those that offer good jobs which pay what you're worth. What kind of attributes would you look for in a company or product if you were searching for a job right now?
Yes, I too have learned that I'm happier being a dev than being a manager.
This is very much broad-brushing and there are plenty of exceptions, but in general I've found that startups, FAANG-style companies, and companies that seem more focused on making products as a vehicle for using new technologies (as opposed to using appropriate technologies to make better products) tend to have a greater prejudice in favor of younger developers.
If such a company interests me, I'll absolutely apply to work for them -- but I don't really expect I'll hear back from them past the initial interview.
Although I have had good experiences as an older dev working for software companies, I've found that I have the best experiences working for companies that aren't overtly software. My current job, for instance, is at a company that makes industrial equipment. The software isn't the product, it's one of the components that makes the products work. It involves several currently-fashionable technologies, though, such as machine learning, so it's not like I'm working in a technological backwater.
My general approach, really, is more about setting proper expectations in my own mind rather than trying to pinpoint "older dev friendly" companies. If a company is doing something interesting, and appears to be the sort of place I'd enjoy working at, I'll toss my hat in the ring even if I suspect they'd consider me to be too old. I just won't get my hopes up with them.
I've also found that a big indicator is when I physically visit their offices and see the makeup of the other devs working there. Even a casual glance can reveal much in terms of how youth-oriented the company is. If I'm the oldest person in the building, they're probably not going to hire me.
I don't know if any of this helps. I'm a believer in not prejudging things too hard and don't really let my perception of their age culture be a significant factor in my decision-making. There are no hard lines here, and I have been hired and welcomed into companies where I was the oldest dev in the place by a large margin.
When I was doing military stuff I was perfectly happy being a senior NCO. I loved the work, being hands on and mentoring people. My military school history was messed up years ago and I was able to put off any repercussions through numerous temp assignments, but it caught up to me. I was never going to be further promoted and worse they were about to reduce my rank, so I became an officer.
In the corporate developer world I am tired of being a developer. I love coding, but I generally don’t like the people I work with. I feel many of my peers are either looking for shortcuts to avoid learning and organizing or they are deeply entrenched in something super narrow and highly defensive about it. All I see is insecurity. Now I wonder if it’s better to move into management where I can better steer through some of the insanity.
What I would look for in my next job is how well a given team measures things. Everybody thinks they are great and it’s generally a bunch of bullshit. Example of potential measures: execution time, test coverage, test automation time, operations per second. Measuring is a primary indicator of product quality, but more importantly it’s an indication of team maturity.
Look for companies that make money off the real world (not software) but need software to run. Pay is less but stability and work/life balance much better.
This is a great question. and I have worked at multiple startups, and mega-corps. The only attribute I would look for is the engineering culture in the team or org you are joining. I found the best orgs to have a cultural tone set by engineer-turned managers who remain hands-on and value excellence in engineering.
Majority of managers are average coders who have moved on to management. Such managers look down at engineers with disdain (or as code-monkeys) or worse they see themselves higher in the status hierarchy and impose themselves on the engineers or god-forbid, they see themselves as technically better and interfere in technical decisions. this leads to a poor engineering culture in the org as excellence in engineering is not even measured or appreciated
granted, the cultural tone of a team or org is difficult to gauge from outside and during the interview process.
"take a good look at me, because you will be me sooner than you think".
I add: "IF you are Lucky!"
(Are you feeling lucky, punk? ;-) -- Thanks Dirty Harry! This part does NOT get voiced!)
Seriously, agree completely with this comment. I'm, ahhh, 'more experienced' than many here, if experience is measured in years.
And that's my top suggestion: make sure that 10- or 20-years' experience is NOT 10x or 20x 1-year experience. Aggressively keep learning, and improving. e.g. today if you're NOT using Copilot -- why not?
Except as noted, re: ageism, it has only gotten better for me as a dev. Enjoy and celebrate that.
I've found that nothing is really much different being an older developer compared to being a younger one, aside from two things: I have a lower tolerance for bullshit, and I have a much better handle on what my time is actually worth to employers.
While ageism is certainly a thing that has to be taken into account, I personally haven't found that the problem is unmanageable. I handle it by ensuring that my skillset is up-to-date (same as we have to do throughout our careers anyway), and by recognizing that certain parts of our industry will never welcome older developers. I don't bother with those companies, but they are a minority limited to certain cultural "islands". I am certain that I have been passed over with certain jobs because of my age, but nonetheless have never had difficulty finding good jobs that pay what I'm worth.
I also have developed a standard comeback when younger devs make disparaging comments about my age: "take a good look at me, because you will be me sooner than you think".