Maybe not.

[link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=115171| Barry's] comments here seem pretty up-to-date and - surely he is among a few here who have actual daily hire/fire responsibilities within a Medium? Large? (typical??) US Company

From all you've said, I can't imagine how You imagine.. that the Post-.com IT now "commodity industry" - is apt to want to pay you a decent wage, one capable of supporting [any] US Family\ufffd .. at least one who doesn't dine periodically, from a dumpster behind (a soon Ex-) "Middle Class" restaurant.

If I read his post with comprehension, he is saying: Hell Desk at $10/hr and No Perks [!!] is the level of *this* economy: now aiming Depression-wards, and certainly Not valuing hard-won techno-skills any higher than would McD's or Walmart ==

Our Future for some time? in the mega-Monopolization of as many 'needs' as Can be Monopolized next.
[That's just My crystal ball, of course - you can always pray for a Miracle]

As many have said before (and I) - Surely! the problem-solving skills you have acquired - in general sense - is applicable to those many many Other areas which need such an ability. As surely.. many recent 'grads' of fatally-defective 'courses' Lack such 'skills' (or lack having learned the development of such Skills).

Why!? would you doggedly insist upon (still) "preparing yourself" to compete for 10! OK maybe 15/hr deadly repetitve grunt-work in an Oversupplied Field !?! And plot this, from a current position where [unlike most Rich People\ufffd]

> YOU OWN YOUR OWN TIME ?!?<

{sheesh} - You have the opportunity to actually Look Around for gaps.. to ID a few places whose basic functioning demands a few persons who can Analyze a Problem ie Create a Fucking Mental Algorithm to Solve [Anything]. You have the Time.. to start collecting relevant info about Those Niches.

Fixing friends'/relatives' junk computers for-free - might give you a warm fuzzy feeling for a time. So does peeing in your pants.

You demonstrate that you are a somewhat 'Literal person' (WTF that might mean) and your imagination is not, apparently so very good on the Rockwell-scale of 'hardness' - so you aren't very good at Imagining how to laterally arabesque into New Territory. So maybe you need the services of one of those 'attitude inventory' folks -Again- only Listen this time:

In brief, to me it seems that so long as you keep your blinkers on and see tunnel-vision Only that old [IT] thing in front of your nose: you will be wasting your precious Free Time to er Innovate.. until it is All Gone.

Mental laziness I am familiar with; and I recognize it when I see it. It IS harder to examine the 'New', when you'd Much rather.. do some complex rote-thing that (for you) is EZ. Can you stay in this mode forever?

That [Box] you are not thinking-outside-of: is covered in duct tape. A box-knife is the recommended tool. (It won't work on airplanes any more, though)

Computers [The Universal Machine] may be the largest time-sink ever spawned - one can waste weeks! merely rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic: which will sink with all Accounts in a tidy orderly database - to -12,000 feet negative Elevation. Then they make a movie: not about 'The Titanic'; about its Sinking. Wanna stay in that Movie?

Luck,

Ashton