I'm already over the hill at 45. I don't know that I've ever lost any opportunity due to age, nor do I expect it any time soon, but I see the fear among peers e

I'm already over the hill at 45. I don't know that I've ever lost any opportunity due to age, nor do I expect it any time soon, but I see the fear among peers even younger than me. In every situation I've witnessed (both manifested and simply feared), it wasn't age discrimination; it was simply that some older employees had stopped learning long, long ago. They were never good to begin with, they got complacent, and now they're milking dead-end careers until they fade away. Ageism exists, to be sure, but tech is still largely a meritocracy. It may appear to be a young persons' game, but get out of the Silicon Valley/startup bubble, and the vast majority of employers value experience. The key problem with most older workers is that they stop learning. I keep up with technology, and my career options and salary continue to grow. IBM isn't stupid enough to fire people just because they're old. They're firing dead weight.