> Because the people hiring people that are relatively inexperienced but not practicing undercover age discrimination tend to be very much not representative of

> Because the people hiring people that are relatively inexperienced but not practicing undercover age discrimination tend to be very much not representative of the industry, or opportunities for new programmers, at large; people starting their career late need to specifically target that market segment, not the more general one. The other place that doesn't practice age discrimination as much in my experience is local companies. They have a hard time attracting anyone in the first place so it's the easiest to get started if you just show you're reliable and willing to learn/work.