Just like my anecdotes are the sample of our DAX and Fortune 500 customers.

Linux adoption? Yes it is wiping Windows on the server, that is why I always worked for Java/.NET shops since 2006, switching stacks as per customer project requirements, in some projects even both get equally used.

Somehow your replies always feel being about fear of using outdated tech, always having to jump into new toys to keep being employable.

Never felt the need to worry about that, as long as we have happy customers, opportunities abound, regardless of what is the latest tech stack fashion.

I think JetBrains sample size is a lot larger than yours.

.Net Core isn’t “new”. It’s been around since 2016 and the direction that Microsoft is headed in.

never felt the need to worry about that, as long as we have happy customers, opportunities abound, regardless of what is the latest tech stack fashion.

And what happens when either you want to or are forced to change jobs? Someone who is 40+ will be seen as just another old head who hasn’t kept up with technology and be on HN screaming about “ageism”. Not directed at you personally. I’m also in my mid 40s and seen it happen time and time again. Someone staying at a job for 20 years and then gets laid off and all they have to offer is that they are really good at ASP.Net WebForms when the world has moved on.

Heck it happen to me at 35 looking for a job and my experience after staying with a company for 10 years was VB6 and C++/MFC.

Instead of moving on to technologies that are in the “slope of enlightenment” phase of the hype cycle would you suggest that I kept doing C on DEC and Stratus mainframes like I did on my first job?

The average tenure of a developer in the US is 3-4 years.

And yet most of those RFP keep referring to stuff like .NET Framework 4.6 and .NET 4.7.1.

As for the job, luckily Europe is not as bad as US in what concerns ageism.

Over 40 here as well and so far no problems switching jobs, because I always strived not to be labelled as only being good at technology X, without anything else to offer.

My advice is to diversify domain knowledge, master soft skills, be able to jump between developer, QA and technical lead roles across delivery sprints, and most customers will find less relevant how well one masters the very latest version of technology X, rather what is the business value one brings to the organization.

And some of them, do value a lot that one is able to keep that old clunky VB 6 application running, instead of sinking several thousand euros attempting an half-baked rewrite into the latest stack trend, and do pay accordingly as well.

And yet again you use your own anecdotal evidence without any large sample size.....

As for the job, luckily Europe is not as bad as US in what concerns ageism.

So how competitive is someone all other things being equal who hasn’t kept up with technology as someone who has?

And some of them, do value a lot that one is able to keep that old clunky VB 6 application running, instead of sinking several thousand euros attempting an half-baked rewrite into the latest stack trend, and do pay accordingly as well.

Until Microsoft introduces an operating system that doesn’t support it and you’re stuck with an unsupported OS with an unsupported runtime with security and compliance concerns.

If they get the job of their dreams, it is a completely different matter though.