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Comment by exdsq | Hacker News Reader

I've worked in companies that have had numerous developers your age or higher so don't worry, you will find somewhere. One thing I'd suggest is looking at consultancies in your area where experience is important. I've heard banking tends to have a slightly higher average age too. And finally, consider contracting! A senior experienced developer can earn a good bit of money and being 45 works for you rather than against!

FWIW, the consultancy I worked at that had multiple 'older' developers was https://oxfordcc.co.uk. They did some pretty cool stuff :)

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I am based in Belgium and I was external consultant since I was 35. I am now 44 and I decided to switch to employee status at the company where I am now. They are planning to fire all consultants as their contracts expire, so it's either this or out.

Money-wise, I will loose, but I like the job, and good jobs are scarce nowadays.

I second this. I am much younger than you (Early 30s) but very old looking for my age. People regularly guess that I'm 10 years older than I am. This has only worked to my advantage in the consulting space.

Companies want young naive employees who will work lots of unpaid overtime but when they hire consultants they want someone who's done the work before. There is a poise and sense of assurance that comes with age as well which you can definitely use to your advantage.

Right until some mid-level prick wants a bonus and cuts costs, so your project is closed and contract terminated :-) Been there ...

But, the good thing is that nobody can fire you from your own business.

Give them a finger and use existing make, along with other binutils.

Good luck and don't pay attention to arrogant idiots.

Oh totally. You have to view consulting like running a business and be constantly looking for new clients, there is no job security at all. But if you are decent with marketing and selective with your clients it can be super fun and rewarding.

It's also one of the least risky paths to starting a business if that's your thing. I ended up building a consulting agency out of it (https://startopsgroup.com) so it has definitely served me well.

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