I completely agree, with one caveat. Even while you're older than average at such companies, make sure you're current with hot trends and tech. Better yet, ge

I completely agree, with one caveat. Even while you're older than average at such companies, make sure you're current with hot trends and tech. Better yet, get on those teams in the company (R&D?) that are exploring those cutting edge techniques, ideally, to serve mainstream business needs that won't go away. A good example right now is machine learning or data mining. When working for a Fortune 100 company, it's easy to do the same thing with the same tools for years. Then one day you awaken to find your skill area there is in decline and devalued. If your skills (and personality) are not already seen as a hot commodity within the company, then when you leave, you definitely won't be prized by other companies either. If you're also older than average, that's a bad combo. So don't let yourself fall behind technically, and try to stay toward the forefront of your skill area. But I recommend you don't get too far ahead of the curve and jump blithely into a high-risk/high-reward role, since blue chip companies are often slow to adopt novelty and do so clumsily, which often leads to false starts and poor rates of success in new ventures. BTW, I'm almost 60. Nobody calls me kid any more. :-/