After 45 years of age, finding a new job in Ukrainian IT becomes noticeably more difficult: the search takes longer, candidates are more likely to talk about discrimination, and only about a third of those who search manage to find a new position. However, those older specialists who do manage to move to another company do not necessarily work for a lower salary
After 45 years of age, finding a new job in Ukrainian IT becomes noticeably more difficult: the search takes longer, candidates are more likely to talk about discrimination, and only about a third of those who search manage to find a new position. However, those older specialists who do manage to move to another company do not necessarily work for a lower salary
This is evidenced by new DOU analytics on ageism in Ukrainian IT. For this, data from the March-April 2026 labor market survey and the summer salary survey were used.
As people age, IT professionals spend longer on average looking for a new job. For the youngest professionals, the search takes about three months, while after 45 years of age it takes 23 weeks, or more than five months. And among people who had not yet found a job at the time of the survey, the search in the 45+ group lasted more than half a year on average.
The search results also differ. Among the youngest IT professionals, approximately two-thirds of those who searched found a new job. Then the share gradually decreases, and among specialists 45+, only 34% found a job. However, older IT professionals are generally less likely to actively search for a new company. More often, they either do not plan to change at all, or are only willing to consider interesting offers.
Another notable difference is in the experience of communicating with employers. The older the respondents, the more often they report experiencing prejudice during their job search. Among professionals 45+, 59% reported discrimination.
Most often, IT professionals in general complained that employers considered them too qualified for the job. But among candidates 45+, the most common reason for discrimination they cited was age. Moreover, more experience does not necessarily mean higher salaries. At the beginning of their careers, median IT salaries increase significantly with age. But after about 35 years, they reach a plateau — around $3,500.
IT professionals who have recently changed jobs typically have a lower median salary than their peers in the market as a whole. But there's a different person among professionals 45+. Among those who have changed companies in the past year, the median salary is $3,600 — even slightly higher than in this age group as a whole. So after 45, finding a new job is much more difficult, but those who do manage to do so don't necessarily have to settle for less money.
Previously, dev.ua talked about IT professionals who continue or even start a career in IT after the age of 50–60. In particular, one of the heroines of the article shined in IT at the age of 56, and 65-year-old Data analyst Andriy Kamuz said that EPAM hired him at the age of 60.
