http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/ ... _ham_radio

Congrats to K7VE for making it into a ComputerWorld article :) If only he would not advocate DStar :quiet:

But a good article none the less.

Hays claims his research efforts wouldn't be possible if he wasn't a licensed amateur radio operator -- or "ham," the term he and his fellow hobbyists use to describe themselves. He says ham radio gives him "space and a choice of spectrum [in which] to experiment." He also values the hobby's largely self-policing regulatory structure and close-knit user community. "There are many others who would share your passion and provide [a] great opportunity for brainstorming and support," says Hays, whose ham call sign is K7VE.

For IT professionals, ham radio can foster skills that are translatable into real-world wireless and wired networking applications.
I can say it's true about the IT skills... Failure-proof systems design, WiFi infrastructure design, et al.