In some ways I can understand. Recent college graduates are people my age who all think they’re entitled to a corner office and six weeks vacation on their first day of work. This is because they’ve had a lifetime of people telling them how ‘special’ they are. Then they end up resenting their employer because the boss only cares about performance and those evil things called ‘profits’. Not one thought is given to recognizing just how special the new hire is.
If I were an employer I’d be reluctant to hire anyone my age, too.
My former employer went the other way. They systematically fired all the high salary people and replaced them with recent college graduates and interns. This may work in some industries but not medical devices. In the last year they have had 3 recalls, each costing several million.
I have a great deal of experience in medical devices/FDA and have worked in both R & D and production. I know lean and six sigma and can work as an ME or QE. My resume generates lots of phone calls until they find out how old I am (69). Basically, they want 35 years of experience in a person 22 years old.