I live in NYC and it's been a problem here for at least 10 years. I can't tell you the number of times I've had people near me talking on their cell phone ("Yeah, I'm watching this movie and it sucks. What are you doing ?"). Texting is extremely common. If you sit toward the back on can see the glow of a half dozen smartphone screens at any given time (or more). Having them constantly light up in your field of vision is a annoyance. It's so bad that I basically don't go to movies anymore.

In the late 90's COBOL consultants were paid big bucks to fix the Y2K (non) problem. Now they get good money for replacing all of the retiring baby boomers. And since nobody in India seems to know the language (and there's zero interest in universities teaching it), I think job security would be excellent. It's a great niche to fill.

If a doctor does this and then makes a mistake during surgery, it's an instant lawsuit. It's all being captured on video. Furthermore the attorney can claim the doc was distracted and more interested in experimenting with technology than with providing the best possible patient care.

It's not always about minimizing the cost of missions. It's also about maximizing public support (and Congressional $$ ) for the work. And nothing gets people enthusiastic like having them see a human being jumping around on a moon or another planet (see Armstrong, Neil).

In the current job market it's always desirable to keep up one's skills. Learning a new language like Python or (if you haven't already) Java would be great. If your language skills are good contributing to an open source project is smart. Both of these document your continuing education. It's good to show you can benefit the company in multiple ways (or be prepared for another job if necessary).