What I think paulg might be getting at is that programming is a way of thinking as much as a practical skill. The job market fluctuates with economic cycles but

What I think paulg might be getting at is that programming is a way of thinking as much as a practical skill. The job market fluctuates with economic cycles but the mindset that one develops when mastering programming is transferrable and useful in other contexts. Most people are not genuinely interested in mastery and are content with mediocrity (which is fine). I spend a huge amount of time programming, even though I don't even particularly like computers, because of what I learn about myself and the world through the work.