Did the need for programmers dry up when off the shelf operating systems became mainstream, or when most of us started writing in higher level languages instead of assembly?
Software just get more complex and expands in scope when we can build on top of new abstractions.
Indeed, it seems software is getting more and more specialized, with more and more programmers needed in smaller and smaller areas. I know a guy who makes a good living programming specialized mining tools. I didn't even know such a profession existed before meeting him.
Software just get more complex and expands in scope when we can build on top of new abstractions.