[grumblefoo]

I've been using this metaphor for a couple years now, and I think that it can be taken further. Developers are like the car mechanics because they build the thing. There are an increasing number of tools being created to make developers lives easier, and as such, the bar to entry lowers. This is not the only career in computer science, though. Just like the auto industry, we need research to push the whole field forward (developing a new, more efficient programming language; or a better fuel injection system). We also have mechanics called IT people that help people with day to day problems that they encounter with their computers.

Moral, if you want to stay relevant, make sure you know the things that push research. Learn the lambda and pi calculi. Learn category theory. Web development is an overpaid field, software engineering is not. Enjoy the easy money while it lasts, but know that its days are numbered

[gfodor]

I'd argue that if you are going to focus on keeping abreast of research, you should focus on things that have much more obvious applications than various niche topics in programming language theory. For example, advances in machine vision, computer graphics, machine learning, and distributed systems seem to be much more meaty than category theory and lambda calculus for ensuring you do not get left behind in the next big wave of innovation.