Not necessary. I'm living the dream, right now. I worked for many years, to get to where I am now.
The fact that I'm not valued, simply as a function of my age (I'm 58, BTW), is annoying; a bit hurtful, but not crippling, at all.
As a matter of fact (not theory -fact), I'm more productive that I've ever been in my life, I learn more quickly, and more holistically, than I ever have, I use tools more effectively than I ever have, and I am enjoying what I do, more than I ever have.
There's the most positive thing that ol' Freddy once said: "That which does not kill me, makes me stronger."
I had to go through the rejection and humiliation to reinforce and realize my own sense of confidence and self-reliance.
I can tell you that the folks I'm working with right now, are basically pinching themselves.
On the other hand, someone telling other people how to handle ageism should definitely be prepared for such a question.
Conditional on the person I replied to's comments, if he/she is 60 I can perform a particular probability update, if they are 20 then I'll perform another probability update.
tl;dr : if you tell people how to handle aging, your own age becomes relevant.
It’s like any other problem, there are solution options. Some people switch to management. But ageism affects management too.
Focusing on the age doesn’t help I any matter. Age is simply proxy for stagnation to most people. The common euphemism is you can’t teach old dog new tricks.
Focus of solving problems and delivering solutions utilizing latest tech stack and design patterns. Effectively demonstrate these dynamic abilities and open the doors to opportunities.
When the full time offers slows down, I’ll take on vendor and contract positions. When the contract positions slow down, I’ll start my own vendor or consulting company. I’ll hire younger sales and product people to be the face of the company.
I always look for solutions to problems, implement the solutions and make adjustments when needed. This is the kind of solution oriented mindset that helps get offers and land clients.
There are so many software engineering problems and so few people that can deliver the solutions. There’s no real competition, younger or older. There are enough to go around for everyone.
Good luck to you.