I have to agree. Just because NASA couldn't do it doesn't mean it can't be done. It just means that a bloated, political, beuracracy can not do it. Just look at how much time and money NASA wasted on "The stick" launcher for the orion capsule. Every engineer who wasn't a scared "yes man" was screaming that it would never work, but the design was the directors pet idea so they pursued it until finally the Air Force informed them the design could not ever be man rated as it would be impossible to create a safe launch abort system. Then look as SpaceX. In just a few years they engineered a launch system from scratch and are performing successful launches. They accomplished all this for a tiny fraction of the costs NASA and it's pet blood suckers run up developing launch systems. They just performed a "soft" landing of the first stage, and have a safe, incremental plan for testing reusability. I think the reason for NASA's public ridicule of the project is because SpaceX will put NASA and their pet ticks out of the launch bussiness if they can not radically transform the way they do business. Either that or their engineers are so old and entrenched that they cannot even see the figures SpaceX is using. It happens to these large old companies. GM engineers have suffered from that mentality. Look up the 60mpg Hummer. When the GM engineers saw it they told the guy who built it: "Everyone told us it couldn't be done!".

In response to this I have to say that your situation was extremely unusual in the IT field. I've never worked with an IT department in any of five large company and government jobs that promoted from the level one support the way you describe. Particularly from the training level. Generally you can not get paroled off the help-desk much less promoted. My experience has been the same as scuttlemonkey. My "help-desk" experience has been an albatross around my neck moving into IT. I took the job for the same reason. To earn some cash to finish school and to get IT "experiance". Despite the fact that I never work for scripted helpdesks and can demonstrate that I know more about the software, hardware and network than the "tier 3" techs they have interviewing me. I get the same response when they hear about my experience. "Oh you worked at a call center. " and tier brains shut off. I'm then permanently lumped in with the script monkeys and the telemarketers. I had to take a lateral move to get "promoted" I'm in telecommunication and I have more opportunity to advance than ever. I may go back to IT but it'll be a tough choice.