So this may get a little deep. I am the product of a broken home, negligent but loving parents (if that makes sense), lack of roots (moved a lot), etc. My entire life I feel like I have made mostly good decisions to make sure I didn't end up homeless. I joined the Air Force right out of high school however I didn't pick a job that was applicable to the outside world. I went to college after that but I picked a major that I ended up having no interest in (finance). Now as an almost 30 year old I found myself in the IT world. I somehow acquired my Net+, Sec+, CCENT, and CCNA; most of that information has been dumped from my brain though. I am stuck in a desktop admin role and I don't know how to claw my way out. I am doing my best to keep my nose in the books but motivation comes in waves for me. I'm looking for network admin / sys admin jobs but they all want technical expertise in areas that I am not familiar with at all (Unix, SQL, Server administration, etc). I am mostly stuck replacing keyboards, monitors, and fixing pretty basic issues like password lockouts and the like. I know the common answer here is to build a lab and figure it out on your own. However, it is hard to find the motivation to spend my own money and time on this stuff outside of work. For instance I am trying to learn Powershell on my own by reading the Month of Lunches book and watching CBT nugget videos. When I watch the videos the stuff seems to makes sense. But once I get to work, I cannot find a reason to use powershell or when I do and I want to create a script my mind just goes blank. I know this stuff does not come easily to me, but I am hoping if I keep at it something will finally click. Sorry for the long message, but what I am getting at is how do you suggest I move forward to learn some valuable skills in this field? My confidence in myself is shot, and I'm having trouble getting it back.