I'm not sure that steelworkers were ever "the hot thing to do." The downfall of the steel industry in the US is multifaceted, but mainly boils down to the fact

I'm not sure that steelworkers were ever "the hot thing to do." The downfall of the steel industry in the US is multifaceted, but mainly boils down to the fact that importing steel from outside US is cheaper than producing it in the US and technological improvements in building with steel has greatly reduced the number of people needed to construct things with steel. Take from that what you will about the software industry, but just remember that everyone either gets replaced by someone cheaper or technology takes their job away.