The big reason you see so many self-taught developers in this industry is that it's so easy to demonstrate that you're good at what you do. No $200k degree req

The big reason you see so many self-taught developers in this industry is that it's so easy to demonstrate that you're good at what you do. No $200k degree required. Just $7 for a domain name and a bit of time building something impressive to put there. You can't do that with, say, doctoring or lawyering. There, you'd actually need a piece of paper saying you're good at what you do. Here, all you need is to be good. Go build something cool. Optionally stick the source online someplace, but definitely put the end product someplace you can point to. Then point potential employers to it. Incidentally, you're not old, and even if you were it would not matter. I went 10 years at one point never meeting a client in person. I could have been 112 and they would have had no way of knowing. Ignore people complaining about age bias. If you're good at what you do, people will want you to do it for them.