The "irrational exuberance" led to the market bust and also after the decade of continuous US economy growth, a downturn was expected. At least that is what macro-economics suggest. If it were to follow the Japanese pattern and slip into decades of recession with a falling dollar and deflation, then it is going to be a tough life. I personally believe the US economy will revive.
There is still a shortage of "skilled" IT professionals and most companies are cautious and watchful before embarking on new projects/systems/technologies. Bottom line is considered more important now than I would say future growth. Things will look up as the economy improves.
People with GC will definitely have an edge over H1s. Alternately, you can pursue success in other ways. May be that restaurant, grocery, hotel, franchise, etc.
Or one can always pursue further studies taking a break from work (if time and resources permit) and promote/leverage oneself.
As Habib wrote, Physicians/Nurses and also teachers are at a tremendous shortage in US. The average teacher does not get paid well. Nurses don't get as much as the better paying IT jobs (depends on what you make in IT as I know people in IT making just 50K/year which is the low-end). Studying to become a doctor in US requires a great deal of money and time and very few do it and hence the shortage resulting in huge demand.
As for pharmacists, there is a shortage now. But then it cannot be forever as newer technologies limit 1 or 2 pharmacists to man a pharmacy. The shortage for pharmacists can pay them well now but the career path is a bit stagnant. For those in pharmaceutical science and research, not all big drug companies are doing well and there is a constant pressure on them from the government and public with the perception that they make too much money. (I am in pharma IT and it costs a lot before a drug is discovered and no one is willing to hear about that cost). So, is it a good field? Can't say as it is highly cyclical in nature and goes through ups and downs.
Coming to GC holders in IT, it should improve. No perks/bonuses of yester years, no instant millionaires but should be a high paying job for years to come. But then, it would need more learning/activity to keep abreast of current skills and technologies.
I have noticed that some friends who had been laid off are getting more calls and jobs in the past 2-3 months than about 6-9 months ago. (including H1s)
Also, for all the talk about jobs being outsourced to India, etc., it probably still generates less than 10 Billion US dollars. And that figure includes the people from India who work in the US on H1s and other countries. Just IBM global services alone does $30+ billion per year in IT services. If you took the whole of IT services in US, the work "outsourced and done" in India is still small. Maybe all the work will go there but it is still a long way off.
For example,
http://www.rediff.com/money/2002/aug/22wipro.htm
Wipro has a first time $20 Mil deal. EDS $1.5 Bil deal (one of many and there are IBM, Fujitsu, Unisys, CSC, Big 5, etc. ). So, still a long way off for all the work to be outsourced.
And always TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Satyam are mentioned. Add all the employees of these. probably about 50000. That is not really big. The flow of IT outsourcing will occur not because of these companies but if IBM, EDS, etc. go big time in India and China.