> a 25 year-old developer is the same as a 50 year-old developer, but at half the cost and without the hassles of things like kids to take care of.
I was a fairly good programmer when I was 25. I'm a MASSIVELY better programmer at 57 than I was back then. My memory is a bit worse, and for certain kinds of problems, I may be a bit slower than I was at peak (maybe around 42-47). But hire me now, and you'll get a better programmer than you would ever have gotten from this body in the past.
And, guess what: no kids to take care of because they've already grown into fully fledged adults and lead their own lives.
I was a fairly good programmer when I was 25. I'm a MASSIVELY better programmer at 57 than I was back then. My memory is a bit worse, and for certain kinds of problems, I may be a bit slower than I was at peak (maybe around 42-47). But hire me now, and you'll get a better programmer than you would ever have gotten from this body in the past.
And, guess what: no kids to take care of because they've already grown into fully fledged adults and lead their own lives.