[alexiskai]

I'm trying to stay out of this discussion, but I will say that I think a lot of the people who used to go into these industries, and had the brains to succeed in them, now go into other lines of work where they get paid more and the work environment is nicer.

I work in IT and we have plenty of young people on staff who are creative problem solvers, easily trainable, high ROI, self-taught or certified through vocational schools. Many of them have technical hobbies like electronics and programming.

I think in a pre-computer age many of them would have gravitated toward mechanical trades, industrial design, engineering, etc. But they make a higher salary here than they would in most restoration shops, and their skills are transferable if they have to move due to family commitments.