You are correct about OS developers fading. The need simply is not there any more and the demand now revolves mostly around high-level jobs. Even in my case, I

You are correct about OS developers fading. The need simply is not there any more and the demand now revolves mostly around high-level jobs. Even in my case, I noticed that the vast majority of companies do not need someone who has written their own X - it is far more valuable to be versed with mainstream implementations of X. It is also something I find worrisome. Programmers spend their lives building up unique knowledge, only to have it fade into oblivion. We keep reinventing the wheel but don't care to invest in keeping the wheel rolling. :)