I'm thinking it might be possible to build ventilators locally -- maybe even in a hospital as needed -- if it were possible to assemble them from a kit of inexpensive parts plus site-printed 3D components.
Does anyone have thoughts on this? It seems like an idea that could save millions of lives.
Trying to start a company that's focused on hiring older engineers is just as ageist as starting one focused on hiring younger engineers.
I was a top engineer for 25-30 years everywhere I worked. In my 50's I clearly encountered significant age discrimination in interviewing. From sitting and pairing on teams where everyone is half my age and being told the team didn't think I'd 'fit in' to interviewing at companies started by 20-somethings where literally 90% of the entire company of 100 people were all under 35.
Age discrimination in engineering is real. Maybe not everyone has seen it because they haven't interviewed at companies where it exists, but there are many companies where it exists - especially smaller companies with highly homogenous employee bases.
My recommendation? Continue learning and stay on the cutting edge, make sure you keep up with current interview strategies (like knowing your algorithms and data structures cold), and continuing to work hard. You'll encounter discrimination at more and more companies, but you'll find some where your skills will keep you employed.
Have you ever worked on an assembly line (or in a factory of any kind)? It's hard, backbreaking work that from my experience sucks much, much harder than any programming job I've ever had.
Hacking code may be more mentally taxing, but if you need to take break (for the bathroom or whatever) you can do it on your own schedule -- not on your lunch break like a lot of factory workers.
All I can say is stick with it. Hard work pays off in time.
And I can vouch for the dearth of rails devs (though I guess I do live in Boston).
The one thing I'd say is hold out as long as you can to make sure you get into the type of job you want. If you take a job doing MS Tech just to feed yourself, it'll be hard not to get branded with that tech.
Does anyone have thoughts on this? It seems like an idea that could save millions of lives.