some hints (Score 1)

My creds to talk. 74 now. I was first told I was old in my 40's, looked old by 50's, felt young enough at 60 to join a startup. Bad move. On the street when funding got pulled (cudos to the capitalists. The technical case for the product fell apart a few years later so they would never have made money) But on the street the gray hair didn't help me find work. Point one: *max out your 401k*. I could have packed it in at 60 financially but I had a health condition. So point two: after 5 months I found a job on the accidental coincidence that the web product I built for the startup company was similar to a utility that you'll now see on a government site. On that basis, I got a contract for the last few years of my career until Medicare kicked in. So my hint: know what you have done already cold and be ready to talk about it. So when you sniff out some related project on the table for a potential employer you can pitch yourself. Then it is just a matter of finding a hiring authority who isn't prejudiced against age. Don't feel bad. You could be handicapped by a female identity.