These so-called "IT Professionals" are snobs. Anything considered entry-level is beneath them. You see the same thing in academia from people with advanced degrees.
I am a strong supporter of Professional Organizations which allow like minded professionals to communicate, exchange ideas and resources and generally advance the industry as a whole. The number of organizations is quite large. Many are supoported by industry giving us even better access to industry resources. Here is just a partial listing of some of the professional groups I either support or belong to:
Instrumentaion, Systems & Automation Society
Storage Networking Industry Assoc.
Assoc. of Storage Networking Professionals
CompTIA
Electronics Technicians Association, International
The Fiber Optic Assoc.
the list goes on...
Bottom line, your career is what you make it. If you spend your time listening to "what others say", you will fit right into their little shoebox and never reach your true potential. Break out of the box!
A+,N+,S+,L+,I+,HTI+,e-Biz+,CETsr,CST,CNST,CNCT,CFOT,CCNT,CCTT,ACSP,ISA CCST3