Interesting things can happen when out-of-work college grads spend their days lolling at cafes. Some folks conclude that fat IT salaries are gone, so why not go to grad school and work on that idea for a novel?

In the graduate-program popularity contest, IS, IT, and mechanical engineering are the disciplines losing the most ground, says Gradschools.com, which lists directories for thousands of programs. There's no shortage of Hemingway wannabes: The hottest program is creative writing, followed by international relations and sports administration.

"Tough economic conditions and fewer job opportunities in the tech sector have caused a former boom field, IT, to lose its luster," Gradschools president Mike Shay says. Which leaves us to ponder what life will be like for IT hiring managers when the economy picks up.