I don't buy it. There are people of all ages on my team, and the same has been true at several other jobs I've had in the past few years. There is not even a pa

I don't buy it. There are people of all ages on my team, and the same has been true at several other jobs I've had in the past few years. There is not even a particularly strong correlation between age and seniority. My second observation is that in all the jobs I've had where this was not true, the company has not been particularly successful in the long run. It's unclear whether this is related, but it's interesting. However, I can come up with an alternative statement that may be a better explanation of what some people seem to observe: if you are not a really good engineer by the time you turn 40, and you expect to be paid based on your "years of experience", get a plan B.