What is the future of contract software development in the United States?

could we expect more employment positions in the area of contract software development in the future?


If yes, would this be fueled by the increased practice of package software customization?


Would this help the income of software developers engaged in this form of practice?

What is the future of contract software development in the United States?
Think of it, how many households in the US own a computer? Is there a computer in your car...of course. In your TV? In fact, look around you at everything that has some programmable digital device in it. This is only going to continue to grow. Each of these requires someone to write the program and when it is to be fixed or improved someone to modify. The need for programmers is vast. That's the good news, the bad news, is that this is a technology in it's infancy, it is rapidly changing, so what might be a valuable skill today could be obsolete tomorrow and in the capitalist system and the global market, there can be huge ups and downs for anyone working in this field. Maybe you can picture this better if you are familiar with the recent history of engineers employed in the defense industry. Careers for engineers here can be up and down, when our government decides to spend lots of money on defense, the industry cranks up, there is full employment of engineers and very high salaries. When the downturn comes, there are massive layoffs and huge lifestyle changes, turmoil and disruption for those effected. It is a serious problem and one you must be aware of.


So, if you are a software developer, with current in demand developments skills you should be able to get a good job that pays well but you can anticipate having ups and downs and having to continually be speculating where development is heading and constantly (5-10 year cycles) upgrading your skills to keep yourself in the mainstream of what might be in demand. This is easiest to do if you have a passion for the job. If you do have a passion for programming then I can recommend it as it will help you in the hard times.
Reply:as a computer programmer i can say no.. there is not much more of a future for software then there is now... sorry.