It's a series of poor decisions, starting with the decision to stick with what he knew was a dying language because he thought the talent pool would be smaller

It's a series of poor decisions, starting with the decision to stick with what he knew was a dying language because he thought the talent pool would be smaller and therefore demand higher. Don't get me wrong; I've made plenty of bad decisions and judgment calls in my life and it's only by the grace of God and sheer tenacity that I've been able to recover from each of them. OP's tale just goes to show how quickly things can change if you're not careful. TL; DR: This is an industry where you can't afford to sit still. Be a shark.