I think this is one of the things where it very much depends on what team you're on. My experience at Google has been completely the opposite of what you descr

I think this is one of the things where it very much depends on what team you're on. My experience at Google has been completely the opposite of what you describe. I work with lots of people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s and a fair number of people in their 50s; I'm 35 and I don't feel out of place here at all. I can count on one hand the number of times I've stayed at work past 6 PM; as a parent of multiple school-age kids, there's been lots of flexibility. My team actually has a dedicated video-conference unit specifically to make it possible for those working from home / working remotely to take part in ad-hoc conversations. The main thing is that you have to be good at what you do. You can't expect to just skate by. I've spent a lot of time mentoring new-grads and those in earlier stages of their career, and this has been recognized and rewarded. I've also written a ton of code and shipped things that worked the first time.