Actually I think real art & design skills are already becoming more valuable than basic coding skills. As software becomes more and more about aesthetics and human interaction a really good designer with a strong style is going to be more valuable than the typical code monkey.

I know if I had it all to do over again I might trade my math & science classes for drawing.

I can agree with this. The fact is that companies are making it easier for people to make programs (note that most of them don't go anywhere like Android App Inventor) making it much more reasonable to have an art background than it used to be, since the entry level is, theoretically, lower.

Ah, that is until you look at the average salaries for developers versus designers.

Heck, even look at the average salaries of illustrators vs. graphic designers.

It's also MUCH easier for a developer to bootstrap and start a project on their own (be it a app, website, or add-on) than a designer/illustrator. The latter group can start some interesting projects on their own without needing to code but they are GENERALLY less scalable and lucrative.

This comment, I believe, completely undervalues the ability to communicate. A lot of the biggest changes in our world, good or bad, were spawned from books and writing. Written communication is still at the heart of our infrastructure. If you think about it, computers are mere vessels for messages. Aside from complex scientific computation and some entertainment, most people use computers for communication and for building things that allow communication.

If you can clearly and passionately describe a change you want to see in the world, you can get a lot of people behind you. Writing does, and always has, helped with this. I'd say being a very good writer can have a lot of benefits.

Now if you pair good writing with good computer skills, you have a the ability to get a powerful message to billions of people =]. I'd say they are both complimentary and extremely useful tools.