It isn't that irrational. I know many people who didn't have very good career prospects before getting a career in software development or system administration. And while most people are making decent money the tech industry is bad at providing other values. In a downturn a lot of us would end up competing for the same jobs. If you are lucky you are just stuck in a job you can't get out of.

So I would say that diversifying and investing in the future is a good idea.