I'm not buying it - I transitioned to full-time developer older than he is. Maybe he won't get a job at the hippest companies in Silicon Valley, but by my experience (currently doing .NET in Houston) there is a tremendous demand for programming skill in all of the un-sexy industries out there. I get like 3-4 Linkedin inquiries for positions here every time I update my profile, and I'm set as not looking. If you can get stuff done, and articulate your ability to get stuff done, then you'll be able to find jobs easily.