<p>
[quote]
1905 was a bad year to apprentice to a buggy whip maker.
[/quote]
But you can make a life if you change with the technology. My grandpa was a harness maker, leather worker in the "old country." After he came to America, he joined someone else to buy into an autobody shop in ca. 1920 or so. He used his skills to make canvas tops for cars, do the interior seat covers, and the like -- and his sons learned how to work a mean sewing machine. The auto body shop (which still exists in Waterbury, CT, but is no longer in the family) was also a "design" shop, where they would outfit racing cars -- building the bodies on top of the frames and engines, etc., for cars that raced all over New England. A lot of repeat business as crashed cars had to come in for a new body as well as repair on the operating parts. </p>
<p>The boys (my dad and his brothers) had great fun driving to pick up cars from NY, CT, MA, RI to bring back in for refitting. One of my uncles could still really sew things many years later. My dad took the next step and became an engineer, and all the sibs got good technical educations.</p>
<p>So training in buggy-whips might be regarded as a decent start if you're flexible and go with the flow later on and also make sure your kids don't get stuck in a rut.</p>