Interesting, I just hired someone in mid 50's for a programming role. We've seen at least a dozen candidates and he did by far the best on the phone and code test. Now I'm happy to have him on the team. In a industry with a shortage of people that are good I'm surprised anyone can afford to discriminate good candidates based on their age. I think the key is being good and getting along with people. I've interviewed some older guys that were not only bad but were coming with an attitude that they were going to teach everyone here.
