I agree with your 3rd paragraph...
"In my case, I have a wide scope of experience and associated capabilities. I am often hired to solve a problem, overhaul a system, or design a solution. Yet, after delivery, I am only considered for similar opportunities. I have even found situations where I am the local subject matter expert and yet am dismissed because that topic is not "associated" with the box I am linked to. "
The employer that I referenced in my posting, that happened to me. I was hired to run a helpdesk environment at a small liberal arts college. For a while, I was mainly seen in that context of just being the helpdesk person. But, later on as the college started introducing new educational software systems. many were surprised that experience with them? It should've been surprising as for the prior 6 years, I was working in the higher educaiton area in the I.T. departments of the 2 institutions I was a student; evne one of the schools the main helpdesk I worked at, plus the Computer Technology program I was in were the two points of testing before the system was opened to the rest of the college.
Going back to the current discussion, when I was talking to the company trainer (and also the college's Academic Dean) who was training certain faculty and helpdesk staff from the other academic divisions about my experience using the system, the trainer seemed to be thrilled. The Academic Dean, he pretty much dissmissed me. He had that "oh? Ok look" on his face. I found it very distasteful and disrespectful. Why? Because if out of several hundred faculty and staff, you have one person that has actual knowledge and experience using the system, you would think he would've been glad. As this person would be the subject matter expert. And also, since the college is one of 3 schools in that city, and with the other two schools being larger than that school, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to assume one of the two other schools uses the same system; which in fact the largest of the three school did and it so happened it was the school that not only I worked in the I.T. dept at, I was also a student who used the system.
