I have watched my father go through this as well. 2 masters degrees under his belt, +35 years of programming experience, self employed contractor for around 15

I have watched my father go through this as well. 2 masters degrees under his belt, +35 years of programming experience, self employed contractor for around 15 years. He has and will travel across the US for any assignment that made sense. He has worked for a lot of well known large organizations. He too is unable to find work. It has been hard for me to watch my father give so much of himself for his family and now he is unable to find a source of income to pursue his own hobbies now that his kids are on their own. I have had to talk with him about settling down and retiring, even though he was not ready. He still loves what he does and he is good at it by all accounts. It is as if he is giving up a part of himself. I tell him he now has the time to do what he wants, to build what he wants, but to him it's not the same. He wants to be a productive member of society. The rejection is hard. I too feel that ageism is a live and well. I am trying to learn as much as I can from this. One thing for sure is to make sure you are prepared for anything. Save as much as you can while your young. I am trying hard to accomplish this while I can. Who knows I may even start my own business or at least grow more of what I have. Nowadays it is hard to rely on just one source of income.