That's pretty much the buzz I've heard in online forums. Does the SWA report break this wage premium down in age catagories? The general chitchat suggests that firms hire 20-something programmers, who are productive but still rather cheap, and try and get rid of 30-something or 40-something programmers - those whose added skills would generally result in higher salaries.
So I'd be interested to hear what the wage vs. age curve looks like - although that would be skewed by the small number of older, well-paid consultants. Figures on unemployment rates in the field vs. age would also be interesting.
Peter -- Peter van Heusden <pvh at egenetics.com> NOTE: I do not speak for my employer, Electric Genetics "Criticism has torn up the imaginary flowers from the chain not so that man shall wear the unadorned, bleak chain but so that he will shake off the chain and pluck the living flower." - Karl Marx, 1844