A few months back, SearchNetworking editor, Chuck Moozakis interviewed me for an article discussing the future of network engineers in the IT landscape. As part of our discussion, he asked me, “what in your mind, defined you as a networking pro in 1995, in 2005, and in 2015?”

The question caught me off guard. What defined me? What kind of question even WAS that?

After we wrangled it over for a few minutes, I offered to take the question offline and get back to him. After several days, I finally had my answer – a laundry list of skills and knowledge that I felt lent credibility to my claim of being a network professional in each of those time periods.

But the question stuck with me, and recently, I posted the background along a question on the SolarWinds “GeekSpeak” forum.

The answers were thrilling and inspirational. I encourage you to read them.

What they all include is a list of the things people learned along the way – sometimes technical skills, sometimes “soft” skills, and sometimes just things they learned about themselves.

What I learned, both from answering the question and seeing others’ answers in response, is that the willingness to learn is the only skill people really need.

Learning IS the journey. The rest is just work.