> Much like Cobol and Perl, there will always be a need for Java programmers to--at the very least--maintain existing code.

Sure, if your goal is to get a job maintaining mainframe systems in banks for the next 30 years Cobol or Java are very good ideas.

On the other hand, there are already huge heaps of mediocre java programmers available for cheap, so it's not like the demand is that high.