Technical skills may never die, but <A HREF="http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/18/5-IT-skills-that-wont-boost-your-salary_1.html?source=rss&url=http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/18/5-IT-skills-that-wont-boost-your-salary_1.html">areas of expertise wane in importance</A> as technology advances force companies to evolve and IT staff to forsake yesterday's craft in favor of tomorrow's must-have talent.

"There is less need for system-side knowledge. In the past, IT folks had to understand a lot about memory, drivers, and address locations, and what used which interrupt, but nowadays that stuff is plug-and-chug even on many Unix systems," says Brian Jones, manager of network engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University's Tech Communications Network Services unit in Blacksburg. "I feel like all the skills I have picked up along the way are valuable and help shape my thinking and troubleshooting abilities. I don't know how to value or devalue these skills; it's like they have taken on new value now."