MBA = Lobotomy
I don't know why, but as and engineer it seems that management types with an MBA were lobotomized at some point. While older workers have climbed the compensation ladder they are also less likely to job hop due to all of the age discrimination that goes on own a home they've been in and are comfortable with so they aren't hard to retain and tend to value stability. A younger worker may spend a year and be just up to speed when they decide to take a position elsewhere to get that 5%-10% rise in pay/benefits and a few more chances to add more certifications paid for by the company. Older staff that have been around have seen more things that didn't work out and will know why they didn't work so when the wild idea rolls around again, they can point out why it's a dead end. Things that work get documented. Stuff that doesn't work rarely does. Older workers are quicker to spot solutions to problems. They may also be able to see things less emotionally and respond more rationally. No more heated email exchanges that require a censor. Since people in their 50's that aren't cinema stars rarely spawn more children, they won't be taking the 6 months of leave that governments keep pushing. A twenty something might have a large family in mind and be spending half the year out for new babies and to take care of sick little plague carriers as well as never being able to work late due to football, ballet etc etc.
Older workers are often far more stable and more efficient. If you look at an institution such as NASA and see the stories where an engineer is trying to solve a complex problem and a colleague only has to think a couple of minutes to suggest something elegant, it's easy to see why losing the older staff is seen as a problem. The ones that manage to retire are often asked to come back to oversee projects to keep them on track. Read "Roving Mars" by Steve Squires for an excellent narrative about the MER rovers and how the old guard was instrumental at crucial times to get the rovers done and to Mars.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
