Perry,

There is a growing expectation in the business community that the only long-term non-managerial opportunities in the first world are in creative industry, communications and sales. Development isn't in there. Managers are increasingly perceiving developers as drones who follow instructions- ideal candidates for outsourcing. So being able to use a fashionable tool to deliver to a spec isn't enough any more; the person who writes the spec is the only one who is protected. To write a spec requires strong understanding of the target industry and the benefit IT can deliver. By itself, strong technical understanding of the chosen development tool is easily outsourced. The one who writes the spec does not need to be able to develop him/herself using the specified tool. Which is why some people here are at risk of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire IMHO.