>Networking is definitely a skill, I'll give you that, but it has the sincerity of a sales pitch. I mostly agree but there are two different kinds of networkin

>Networking is definitely a skill, I'll give you that, but it has the sincerity of a sales pitch. I mostly agree but there are two different kinds of networking. The kind you are referring to is what I like to call "ball gargling". This is when someone is just trying to pitch how relevant they are to someone who doesn't really care so all kinds of lame sales tactics have to be used to keep interest. Then there is networking with peers, which can be a pretty enjoyable experience. For example, meeting other researchers at an academic conference or meeting other developers at industry conferences. These connections might not provide an immediate return on investment, but they certainly seem to last longer and have proven to be immensely useful years down the road (at least anecdotally for me).