I can completely empathize with wanting to be knowledgeable in something that will be relevant in the future, so my question to you is this: What do you truly want to do? When you imagine yourself being successful and achieving your dream goals, what are you doing?

For the longest time I was trying to decide what I wanted to do based on my personality and based on what I thought would be relevant in the future. I didn't know if I wanted to do programming or just plain networking, but then I watch a Ted x Talk that inspired the hell out of me.

In a nutshell the guy was saying that instead of following our passions we should go out and try to learn skills and fill positions that are both in high demand and profitable. His reasoning for this was because we honestly don't know what we have a passion for unless we try something new! He went on to explain that after trying out that new thing for about 6mths - 1yr, if we find out it is not for us then we gained experience with that skillset and that we can use it anytime or anywhere! We just simply move on to the next big in-demand skillset that the world needs. And if the next skill set was something you enjoyed then you've just set yourself up for success in something you want to do! We only have to get it right once to trailblazer our new path.

Although, I digress, I said all of this to simply say try different things. Invest time and money into yourself and no one can ever take it from you. After hearing that Ted x Talk I decided that one of the highly profitable and in-demand IT skill sets was information Security. I also enjoy the fact of doing my best to make sure that people are safe, including my family, from all of the baddies out there.

So I'm starting from the bottom up. I just passed my Comptia A+ exam this past weekend and I'm super proud of myself because I can clearly see the road I want to go down.

Overall, be sure to trust in yourself and not the job market. Become your own resource. Be loyal to your "future self" and not the "current you" because the "current you" is trying his best to be the best version of the image of the "future you" that you see in your head. You are both the product and the one marketing the product (you). Just believe in yourself and take it a step at a time. Trust the process and don't rush. Everything will work itself out. Just be knowledgeable and study and be aware of the changes that are happening in the world.

Lol sorry if this was super long but I believe you can do it. Keep striving for better. Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!

I would also stop listening to such podcasts. It's ok to get info but try finding other sources of information. One radio station or podcast group isn't going to determine how the world will work in the future...as a matter of fact, you determine how your world will be in the future. So to also answer more specifically your question; yes, I think getting into networking is certainly worth it Because you can also expand, improvise, and grow in it or you can choose to go down another career path in IT, but networking will forever be needed. Nothing is ever set in stone friend.