So if about 10 years of software developing makes your a SENIOR developer, what happens BEYOND this??? What do 40+ year olds SDs do???

This isn't going to be a popular opinion here, but I agree that ageism is a real problem in the software industry. I've witnessed it firsthand at a FAANG company. I'm still a young guy, but (because of non-programming hobbies - mainly rock climbing) have a good number of > 50 year old friends. Two of them were software engineers at the local FAANG branch and were offered severance in exchange for waiving the right to file an age discrimination lawsuit (this particular company doesn't have forced arbitration).

Anyway, this isn't an abstract issue: there is a nontrivial risk of getting fired for your age if you're an IC. I guess people usually plan for this by starting on the management ladder or having some kind of industry escape plan, like early retirement or a career switch.

TLDR: you're playing with fire if you plan to be a non-superstar IC after 50.

/r/cscareerquestions Thread Parent