ALL the young people who've worked with us, under the age of 30, are no longer here, either they found a "better" job, couldn't take the stress and long hours, or eventually just plain didn't like it. I went back to school at 45, got this job at 49, and have been at it for 7 years now. Granted I'm not on the road as much now as I was at first, but I think I embody most of the qualities you mentioned: patience, skill set, desire and ability to learn, persistence. Over and over, my "older" colleagues and I are in for the long-haul, at times working all night, when the youngsters were falling all around at 9 p.m. Yeah, maybe they partied the night before, but they just don't have the pacing and stamina that experience bestows. And like someone else mentioned, they're often not interested in the solution, but the quick-fix band-aid--in and out. If I had listened to you when I first thought about going back to school, I probably wouldn't have done it...and I'm glad I did. Sure it's a hard, stressful, often thankless job, but I get a lot of satisfaction from figuring things out with my team and learning another new thing EVERY day. So, I'd have to agree with most of the other responders, back off the age thing, it doesn't really apply here...oh, and "past my prime"...I don't think so. Thanks TechRepublic for many thought-provoking and informative articles.