Your argument is "the status quo is the status quo and therefore it should remain as such because it's the status quo". Appeals to continuance (perhaps because

Your argument is "the status quo is the status quo and therefore it should remain as such because it's the status quo". Appeals to continuance (perhaps because you have a personal sunk cost fallacy?) are unconvincing. Your original assertion (that FOSS programs might go away) is a weak one for the reasons stated. "Getting a job" is subjective, that depends on what skills are in-demand. I don't see many people putting "Skilled at Microsoft Viva" on their CV, and that's not because it's proprietary. It's because desired skills are borne from need, and there are network effects in those. If nobody had adopted Excel and instead learned R and SQL, then you would be getting jobs based on listing them as skills. Not surprisingly. EDIT: I should point out that businesses usually follow what schools do: the reason Java is so popular in Germany is because it's what University used to teach so it is (or was) a common denominator, Microsoft knew this and poured billions into getting Microsoft into Education in the 90s when I was coming up. That doesn't mean they get a perpetual license to continue in the event they abuse that position, which they do.