Thank you for being honest with the kid, as a lot of folks exploit peoples inexperience for financial reasons as policy.<p>In general, there are a few assertions people make:<p>A. The industry always changes<p>B. The industry always follows the same trend<p>Both are incorrect, but rather the truth floats somewhere between the two.<p>A better question is often "what skills will offer long-term fiscal utility?"<p>The answer to that utility question exposes the dirty side of the tech industry:<p>1. is the concept an orthogonal theme from purely Academic or Commercial Marketers? If Yes, than the probability it will still be around in 2 years is vanishingly small.<p>2. is the role occupied by Senior staff over 35 at more than 6 firms? No, than the probability of redundancy increases exponentially with time, as the skill demand is under artificial supply manipulation due to wage suppression, regulatory capture, and or tax incentives refactored into a subsidy.<p>3. what is the average ratio of staff with the skill still present at firms over 3 years? if less than 5%, than the roles still fall under churn-and-burn economics, and at some point the stock valuation bump will need ritualistic HR sacrifices. if over 90%, than a roles true value is marginal, and will be bid down in pay over time.<p>4. An "award for the worlds smartest sucker" is not a certificate that will hold value. Anyone that claims they know what will happen in 5 years is a fool selling something like nonsense vendor certifications, media packages, and or political rhetoric (STEM etc.)<p>5. Does the skill require physical presence? No, than the law of outsourcing bids down skill value over time due to irrational competitors.<p>6. Integrity in whatever you choose to do is important regardless of the role. For example, someone using an emotionally charged subject in an 72% LLM generated article will antagonize the wrong people eventually.<p>7. Copying what others do... often means one will land in second place... or worse.<p>Good luck out there, =)