If you are through your 20s and have the experience under your belt, exiting college at 35, with many years of experience won't hurt you. You still bring knowlege and real work experience that your "younger" counterparts won't have. This immediately makes you more valuable. I also think the 'IT being a young mans game' is sincerely a misnomer. Although, you probably are right and would be at a loss if you were considered a "junior developer" at 35, having your experience should not put you in that realm. As you get older, your technical kungf00 leads you into bigger and better positions in IT, such as architecture and team leads. The older you get with more experience, your management kungf00 begins to show itself and you are given more responsibilities and teams to take care. I still have yet to run into 20-something architects whose management and technical/architectural skills are outstanding. That generally takes many years of experience to be able to get right. How many "real" CTOs and CIOs do you know who are in their 20s (or even early 30s). I mean real by folks who actually move up a big corporate ladder and rub elbows with some powerful folks. Stick with your path, do your best and build on your kungf00 and you will do fine.
