I have worked in a few startups and there are lots of old software guys. The biggest reason why there tend to be fewer of them is because most old software engi

I have worked in a few startups and there are lots of old software guys. The biggest reason why there tend to be fewer of them is because most old software engineers used to be young software engineers, which meant they had access to obscene amounts of capital via their incomes, and thus exited from 'wage earner' to 'full-time investor'. The only old software engineers tend to be those that didn't use their capital wisely (or didn't care to) or that went through divorce or other financial trauma. > When I am not employed, I can't just "go around the neighborhood" or "advertise on craigslist" or "hang out a shingle" that says "Got a broken fence? I can weld it for ya! Call me @ xxx..." Also... I have no idea why you think you can't do this. Before I went to college for computer science, I did exactly this, and made quite a bit of money. But, I think this goes to what I said above... some people are aggressive with their skills and money and you tend to not find them at work.