>> Actual development is so slow in most large industries like machining or IT coding, that its not hard at all to keep up other than anecdotes and complainers and people who've basically retired on the job.

This is not a popular view, but I do agree. If one learns the basics, the javascript framework of the week becomes much less intimidating as an obstacle to professional success. There are rarely new things in software development, but the do come along (big data and machine learning).