In academia, or overall? I agree that this is true within academia. The maximum accepted age for a first-year graduate student is about 27; first postdoc, 32;

In academia, or overall? I agree that this is true within academia. The maximum accepted age for a first-year graduate student is about 27; first postdoc, 32; tenure-track, 36. If you don't have tenure at 40, you're flushed. This does not seem to be true outside of academia. If you're good, your career does not take a dive in your 40s. However, the mediocre or uninterested programmers need to move into management before this, because management is more ageist than technology.