Is anyone else nervous about getting pushed out of tech as you age? I love software engineering and can’t imagine doing anything else, but I worry the industry won't love me back in ten or fifteen years. Is this a realistic fear, or is it just standard mid-career anxiety?

Ageism sucks. And I see older folks constantly subjected to it. But let's be clear, ageism isn't *just* towards older people. A common occurance is older people trying to pull rank on younger developers, even when the younger devs are clearly more qualified. It seems the more meaningful distinction is not age or years of experience - but whether or not you care about your work, and have continued to refine your taste and explore new ideas. Maybe we need a new metric: "Years of new experience".

I feel like I am missing out on learning opportunities because my teammate rewrites my code instead of reviewing it. If this is something you've experienced, how did you handle it?

I'm unsure how much it actually helps to list personal software projects when looking for a job. I've been a lead several times and did not receive any resume' with a link to a github/gitlab project. I will say I'm seeing requests for this in recent job searches. Anyone actually been asked about their projects?

I'm job searching again due to being laid off after a long tenure. I have 8 YOE and a modern stack, but I never finished my degree. Recruiters are reaching out, but my cold applications get zero traction. I'm seeing that CS degrees are required everywhere now. Is finishing my degree a smart move to help me get past these automated filters, or is it a waste of time at my level?