Why not study medicine and become a doctor? The web dev industry is too ageist and mostly runs on churning new-grads, whereas as a doctor, gray hair is an advantage not a perceived "disability".
Or try less hip domains in SW development popular with gray beards like embedded. Pay isn't as hot as web dev, but age is not a problem.
Edit, since I'm comment throttled and can't reply: In my country studying medicine is free/vey cheap. And SW devs don't make six figures here so studying to become a doctor is way better for your bank account and job security than competing with thousands of new-grads in an ageist industry.
This is strange advice? I would assume becoming a doctor is hard, extremely expensive, takes a long time and not something you should go into because ‘you see your friends making 6 figures’
My daughter went to med school right out of college and is just now doing her last year of fellowship in her specialty. Next year, she'll be earning much more than I do. It was expensive, but not enormously so compared to what one will earn.
Webdev is risky as an older person if thats all you know because its the most popular, and therefore most competitive.
My advice is to use webdev as a backup to a specialisation of some kind, ideally something you can grow with. Embedded is a great choice, and its definitely more technical work.
Or try less hip domains in SW development popular with gray beards like embedded. Pay isn't as hot as web dev, but age is not a problem.
Edit, since I'm comment throttled and can't reply: In my country studying medicine is free/vey cheap. And SW devs don't make six figures here so studying to become a doctor is way better for your bank account and job security than competing with thousands of new-grads in an ageist industry.