If you comment, let us know your age if you're comfortable doing so, your core technology focus and how you feel about your propects for employment into your 40's, 50's and 60's.
Are you planning to stay in this career or do you feel you have to find something else?
I get a sense that senior devs who complain about age discrimination are the ones who haven't kept on learning, and haven't been keeping their skills up to date.
I could be wrong, but I have no problems finding opportunities. I see others my age or even much older who exhibit enthusiasm and a youthful wonder and they seem to be swimming in opportunities.
But as you grow older you are forced to either become a manager or sales person.
I guess the question is not about age, but wages. In your 20s you still don't know how much money you'll need for a living. When you realize how much you need, you buy a house/car/whatever else expensive enought not to be paid upfront, then unexpectedly have family, then kids and you know you need money. Much more than you get from a technical position.
BTW, remember for the business you are an expense, something they need to build the product, but eventually all technical stuff can be bought or outsourced.
The thing with infosys they just go hire a bunch of people to fill their numbers. Some of those guys aren't really CS guys. A lot of them do it so they can get a good high paying job and it gives them a way out of India. We hired some of their good talent.
Programming was a very niche job until the last 20-30 years. So obviously we would see less old people working in programming compared to a job that has been more stable over time (say Lawyers or Doctors).
My career just keeps getting better. It's not hard to stay up to date if you stay interested and engaged. And if you're interested and engaged, you find yourself not really aging in the way a lot of people do.
Another nice benefit of aging that's helped my career is wisdom earned from experience. I started at AOL in '98 when I was 16 (it was cool then) and have worked in the industry since. There's not much in the way of team dynamics or project mishaps I haven't seen, and that gives me clarity and calm during crisis, which tends to make people want to put me in charge.
I've also learned a lot about interpersonal relationships, confidence and finding mutual benefit. While those aren't typically skills most people associate with staying relevant as an engineer, they are skills that put you in positions to succeed in any walk of life.
I'd say the problem for some veteran developers isn't aging itself, it's getting into a mentality of aging. As long as you embrace the new in technology instead of clinging to old methodologies, you'll be fine. I know developers much younger than me that gripe about new frameworks and libraries like it's a chore to learn. It's still as exciting to me today as the 2400 baud modem I got from my parents in '92.
As to whether or not age discrimination is an issue... if it is, I haven't really noticed it as such.