The barriers for entry to be a developer have never been lower, and the accelerants to help them grow have never been higher.
In the next few years there will be more 5-10 person companies than there have ever been. With manufacturing transitioning overseas and technology growing globally, this seems pretty obvious.
If you are a software engineer and you're good at what you do, then your talents will be in high demand for the foreseeable future. If you're a hardware engineer and you're good at what you do then you're a rare breed, find a way to get inspired and expose your talents.
So if you're wondering what to do when you get out of high school, think about getting into visual design, interaction design, or software engineering. You can always come work for us at Microsoft, we're constantly looking for talented people.
...though remember, it's much easier being an entrepreneur when you're young and can handle the risk than when you're married with children. Tell your parents I said so.
I wonder what my kids will do when they turn 18.
