I'd be surprised if the average 50yo applicant seeking a development job was a second-career "washout" (whatever the word washout means for someone who actually has managed to stay working in any career for a decade). In fact, I'd guess that among 50yo applicants, more of them were teen hackers and have 30+ years of software development experience than have <10 years of experience, though perhaps the median might be more like 20+.