Depends. One of the reasons Fog Creek shifted to products was that their consulting just dried up. The way it appeared to them was that the time to land new contracts was getting longer and longer. Eventually they realized there were no new contracts.

I agree, but that's all consulting\agency work. Markets change and people move on. Not sure why there are those who expect or wish for life-time employment (besides for historical\cultural reasons).

When the checkbook closes, it closes with a thud. I was around when the 2001 fiasco happened, and you have to fight for every cent if you want to consult. Everybody that lost their job after the dot com bust and Y2K, became consultants overnight.