I agree with you - mjstelly. IT is indeed a broad topic, it is like taking a sip from the oceans of the world and trying to tell which river it was from.

Evolve - I have been in the IT Field for the better part of 40 years, I've seen the changes and advances in Technology that are older than most folks are. Evolve? It is easy to say if you have no clue, where it all started.

Evolve jameypurcell - My strength is making dissimilar networks and systems work with each other, and just love it when they say it can't be done, but here it is.

I will conceed that you must keep you skills up to date. But that well is just too deep to "master" everything, that is why they have managers who have a little bit of knowlege to be able to effectively guide their teams and departments. Otherwise they have no need of their employees and simply do it all themselves.

Individuals are wired differently, some with a deep curiosity for how things work. These are the ones with the makings of a true cyber-warrior. But to succeed they need everyone else.

So, as much as I admire those with the skills I have not mastered, I do not consider myself inferior or extinct in anyway nor do I see them as more valued or any better than I am. Because just like that old forgotten and dust book, you will need the information in its covers someday, then you will reach up dust that thing off to learn something from the past that is "New" to you.

Those that can bridge the gap between the Old School and the New, should be valued for their knowledge and abilities not looked at as something that should be thrown out and discarded. We have a broader view of your Big Picture!

Evolve - We all take different paths, but we are all unique and have a place in this world. We each have knowledge and skills that makes us valuable. If your in IT for any other reason than a love for New Ideas, or a curiosity then this is not the career path for you. But instead of trying to get everything for nothing, learn to pony up and pay for the skills you are getting.