"My observation is that, as you get older, the jobs available to you get better but they also get rarer."
Very true. I think this also comes from specialization. You get better at solving interesting and difficult problems, but more in your niche. The jobs are less about, "They are smart, we can pay something decent while they learn" and more "This is the only person for the job." It's also why fit becomes more important later in one's career.
Annoyingly, the reverse is also true: jobs for generalists are also rare because people tend to assume you don't know what you're doing unless e.g. you've spent 5 years lubing up the tailpipe of the JVM 24/7.
Especially since 95% of the work that needs doing doesn't actually need all that esoteric crap that people love to ask about in interviews but a good solid sensible hand on the tiller of some straightforward code.
Very true. I think this also comes from specialization. You get better at solving interesting and difficult problems, but more in your niche. The jobs are less about, "They are smart, we can pay something decent while they learn" and more "This is the only person for the job." It's also why fit becomes more important later in one's career.