I was originally hired as a "software engineer" for an oil company on the basis of the fact I had taken a few Fortran classes in college as an astronomy/math major 7 years earlier. When I told them about my lack of experience, my bosses told me (I paraphrase) "Any jerk can write code, we'll teach you what you need to know. What we need are people who have the background to be able to talk to scientists and engineers and convert what they're thinking into software". Thirteen years later, when I left Silicon Valley, All the programming was being done by kids who had been trained from the ground up as software engineers, many of whom couldn't understand basic physics, chemistry or calculus, but who could program rings around me. I just couldn't keep up. Now those kids, all grown up, are competing with kids in India.

The point is that generalist science/math education was an advantage in the 80s. Programming was an elective course. Today, I would not be able to get a start unless I was a certified systems specialist. And without a masters I can do nothing today in math or science.

My last job was gained by skills in GIS software I picked up on the job. Today, you can actually get a Masters in GIS, which is about as stupid as a writer getting a Masters in word processing. If I had to go back to work tomorrow, I'd have to train to be a pastry chef or a paralegal.

But you're right. The middle class has become lazy.