I experienced no discrimination at all. I went from being a teacher with a MA + 80 hours, making over 75K a year. I am now a mental health counselor (still unlicensed), working a fee for service job that pays, well, about half of what I was making.
I was lucky. I waited until we could live in the style we were accustomed to on one salary, to quit work and let my DH support me. I know that not a lot of people can do this, but it gave me a little wiggle room. Still, the mental aspect of knowing that I was dependent on DH was not easy, at least for me.
I found out that in the mental health field, age="life experience," which is valued. I took my BA and first MA years of graduation off of my resume and didn't list any jobs before 1990. I went on 4 interviews and had 3 offers. I chose to work 80% time, to have some flexibility in my life and time to ride my bike. I still am on track to have enough hours for my license (once I pass the exam) in 2 years, which is the minimum required, as in this field, 35 hours a week is considered full time.
Being honest, I did go to the career services office and talked to the director about age discrimination before I graduated. She looked at me and said, "You look young and active. Don't worry, especially in your field." It's true, I listed my bike leader experience on my resume and every single interviewer asked
me about it.
On the other hand, one of the other students who I went through the program with is about 5 years older than me. She looks older (though not "old") and has difficulty with attention and time management. She's had several other successful careers. She is a fantastic clinician, but was already fired from her first job, because she couldn't handle the paperwork demands. I am not sure this had anything to do with her age, but I am very careful to not dress, act, or look "old." Since I've been around teenagers all of my life, this isn't too hard!