Regarding this issue, at least for software engineering positions in the Bay Area there's a possibility that I haven't seen mentioned that I don't condone but u

Regarding this issue, at least for software engineering positions in the Bay Area there's a possibility that I haven't seen mentioned that I don't condone but understand. Here, most companies' SE departments are dominated by younger engineers largely because that's what's readily available and affordable. These engineers are likely to want to be working with/surrounded by engineers within their general age range not out of any particular distaste for those older than themselves, but rather because highly experienced engineers are intimidating and on some level difficult to relate to. 20 and early 30-somethings want to be treated like they're intelligent, capable workers who are well-peered with their fellow engineers and introducing titanic knowledge+wisdom gaps can toss that out the window. It can make a young guy with 3+ years of solid experience in the industry feel like he's a half-useless greenhorn who can never catch up, which is demoralizing. These people are quite aware of the gap (see the rampant impostor syndrome in the same age bracket) but would prefer to not have it pointed out constantly. Just as one can't magically subtract years from their age, one also can't just snap their fingers and stop being young and less experienced. While engineers don't directly control the recruiting process, they are often the ones doing the phone screenings and technical interviews and often have a lot of swing as to who gets hired. I wouldn't be surprised if this is partially why SV company hires continue to skew young.