I don't think 42 is that old for an IT person. From my experience its more to do with the economy than anything else.

The economy isn't in that great of shape and companies aren't willing to train someone fresh out of college. Where I live, most of the SE positions I see posted are 4-5+ years minimum. But I do think as the economy improves you will see companies willing to take people with less experience.

Don't give up looking. When I first graduated it took me 3 months to find something. It wasn't exactly the type of IT job I wanted but it did give me a foot in the door. Which I later used to get the position I wanted at the same company.