I have no bias against older developers. I think older developers are fantastic because they want to fuck off and do other things and get their work done on time.
The ones I hate are the 25 year old thundercats no-lifers who want to stay until 11pm for some unknown reason.
There's this common misconception that young workers never put in extra hours before the Silicon Valley culture picked up. That's just untrue.
Younger workers have always used energy and enthusiasm to make up for experience and skill in the workplace. Either they work more hours, accept more work, or just accept more stress than their peers to offset their junior status.
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. It's competition that you can either use to motivate yourself, or you can just complain about it as others advance past you in the workplace. I think the stigma against the young developer who _wants_ to put in these extra hours is more of an issue. These people don't deserve to be looked down upon just because they're putting in more, just like you don't want to be judged for working 30-hour weeks even if you deliver. Much like you want to do your work and bug off, they want to do something else with their time. Trying to find reason when you're so far on the other end of the spectrum seems futile.
I believe they were calling out that companies have prejudice against older workers because they are vaccinated against hustle-baiting with low salaries/lots of 3rd class stock.
I think what the comment was saying is that young people are the only ones delusional enough to drink the coolaid and be happy working countless hours for crappy insurance, fake stock grants and a ball pit whereas an older, wiser worker not only costs the company more but sets work-life balance limits and therefore is harder to take advantage of.
