I don't think this is exclusive to software engineer. In most professions with a technical aspect, the majority coast through most of their career simply apply

I don't think this is exclusive to software engineer. In most professions with a technical aspect, the majority coast through most of their career simply applying with what they learned in college and in their 20s. Far fewer spend a considerable amount of energy not only applying what they've learned already, but also digging deeper into the fundamentals and staying on top of new developments in their field. It is this latter group who simply become more and more valuable over time, while the skills and abilities of the former group becomes less and less relevant with each passing year. Basically, it boils down to a majority that learns a trade and a minority that learn how to learn. The key to changing this is to change our educational system to one where teachers focus on learning as the primary skill being taught. The maker movement most closely embodies a culture that values learning to learn.