I saw Bill Gates speak at Berkeley in 2001. He was urging, practically begging, the students to major in computer science. Because you see in 2001 software and

I saw Bill Gates speak at Berkeley in 2001. He was urging, practically begging, the students to major in computer science. Because you see in 2001 software and the internet looked like a "declining industry" as you put it. The dot-com bust made the idea that software would revolutionize the world look like so much idiocy. Anyone who took Gates' advice is doing VERY well right now. But there was loads of skepticism in that audience, and lots of questions about offshoring. My point is, it is incredibly hard to tell what will be a "declining industry" even five years forward. There's no way this guy would have known that television writing would get nuked by reality television. Also, I hope people who read your comment don't make the mistake of thinking they can necessarily avoid this sort of misfortune simply by being smart enough.