Comment On the internet nobody knows you're an old dog. (Score 2) 435
Remote jobs are your friend. I left programming for ten years, and when I returned found that my age and lack of recent experience was a definite handicap. Then I applied for a telecommuting job (advertising for a 'young' developer) and found that they really only cared about my coding chops and how well I play with others, but not much else. They never saw the gray beard. By the time they discovered that I'm not young anymore, it didn't matter. And it turns out that I really like working at home, and would hate returning to a cubicle.