[khelus]

... Our brains and brawn are best used early, in a first-stage career.

Not at all true! Good STEM people continue to become more valuable and productive with age, and experience. That thing called wisdom.

[9YearLurker]

Unfortunately in the fast-changing world of modern technical commerce, that tends not to be the experience of employers—which is why it is harder for a 40 or 50+ programmer or engineer to find a new job.

[ichabod1]

This is the problem: it is the wisdom that leads to the productivity, but HR (leftists) don’t see that when they’re throwing resumes away.