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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gargoyle" data-source="post: 311263" data-attributes="member: 529">Agreed, and I'll add that it never really worked that way.   There are people who are technically inclined, and those who aren't.  I would say don't let money be your primary motivation, but more on that below...   I'll have to agree to disagree then.  The trend I see is younger network engineers who are doing just fine with very little PC hardware or software experience.  The only reason they had to take jobs for a couple of years (or as little as a few months) as a help desk technician or in a break/fix or server environment is that they didn't have the access to the Cisco gear earlier, (edit- or just didn't know the right people).  Putting the gear in the hands of younger people will accelerate this trend.  I totally agree.  You have to keep learning to stay valuable, no matter what you're doing.  I'm not advocating stagnation, only specialization.  Believe me, specializing in something as broad as "Cisco routing and switching" takes many years, and that's not even touching on security, voice, other network vendors, etc.  There's plenty of room to learn and grow in any of these "specialities".Actually I woudn't bet on "doing Cisco routing" in such a job, I was referring to a network management job where you're really just monitoring a network, or flying around the country plugging in routers that are already preconfigured, (if you're lucky you might get to copy and paste a config in...).  Yes there are entry level jobs doing Cisco work.  No they're not very easy to get, and knowing someone helps.  But a cert helps a lot.  (I'd still recommend going to college and getting at least a CCNP first though, or even better the network + then the CCNP)It's a totally different place, and that's my point.  You shouldn't have to go through several other careers to get to the one you want.  My advice was really directed at the exceptionally smart kid like Brainburn's, not the general public.  But I agree, good discussion.<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  Very astute.   The short answer is that money is no longer my primary motivator.  I do work full time as a network engineer.  I bill an average of 50 hours a week, and sometimes a lot more, and I make a bit more in salary and bonuses than your well-educated guess.  (Negotiation is such an important skill...)  I write RPG stuff whenever I can.  Right now I'm on "vacation" slaving away on Call of Duty (poor me.. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> ) .  But really, if money is your motivation, you shouldn't get into the RPG industry.To sum it up, I like the experience of working the RPG industry more than the network industry, and money is not my primary motivator.More specifically:  -  I love to write things that are creative rather than technical (such as detailed engineering documents, scopes of work, etc).  It gives me more satisfaction, probably because it is harder for me.-  I want to be my own boss.-  I want to work at home and choose my own hours, rather than 50+ hours a week, including every other weekend, minimum.  I've had about four weekends off since April.   (I'm on vacation right now, that's the only reason I have time to post this!)  -  I get a thrill when someone lets me know that they enjoyed using something I wrote in an actual game.  -  Things that I publish will still be around long after I'm dead.  Morbid thought, I know, but after I hit 30 I started thinking like that.- I like gamers (well most of 'em).  I like going to GenCon.  I like associating with people who are creative, fun, and thoughtful.  I like playtesting something and calling it "work".  - I have most of the things I want.  I've got lots of good stuff, a good house, nice vehicles, etc.  I have no desire to get rich.  Technically speaking, I am probably already richer than most of the population of Earth, even though I'm only considered "middle-class" here.  My quality of life is good.  The real question is why haven't I quit my job and started writing RPGs full time.  The answer of course is money.  I've got a wife and two kids to support, and can't afford to do it.  Yet.</blockquote>

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