Why IT job postings depress me

Laying it out on the table, I've been looking for another job. I really like my current job but like any other job, it has pros and cons, things I love about it and things I hate about it. Just a recap for anyone who doesn't know, I work in the Network Operations center (aka, NOC) for a large Housing Department of a major university. We support the full IT needs of the staff (mostly administrative, custodial and maintenance staff) and limited scopes of support for the student-side of things (online check-in for housing, website hosting for various student Student Affairs groups, Internet services for the students in residence halls, etc). We're the first round of support. There's one phone number and one email address that 3 of us work out of. In many cases, we can help. Someone locked out their account, email "isn't working", "How do I do this?" sort of stuff. For things we can't fix, we create a ticket and assign it to the proper group. We're akin to 911 dispatchers in the sense that you call us and we notify the proper group to assist.

What I like about it

• I feel as though we add value to the organization as a whole and to the IT operations in general. We're essentially the shield that filters relevant requests from day-to-day BS. Otherwise, anytime someone had a problem, they'd just email the first IT person they can think of about how their computer "does this weird thing". It doesn't matter if they're a developer, tester, Tech Support, SysAdmin of various sort, etc. "It's all computers, right?" Wrong, vaguely familiar and technologically inept user.
• I like that I actually get along with my supervisor. He's one of the first supervisors I've ever had that actually knows how to do what we do. He also admits when he's wrong and isn't a dick about it when he's right. Not only that, he seems to respect me and treat me like a skilled young professional rather than a waiter who just screwed up his order. 
• I like the variety of work we get. I get to do a mix of break/fix stuff, fire-fighting and projects as well. Sometimes the projects are fun such as working on deploying a self-hosted cloud-like file storage solution. Others are mundane like "Make me a list of every user in AD who's 3rd letter of their first name is 'A'". Regardless, not doing the same thing all day is nice. 
• We get the freedom to manage a lot of our own stuff as long as everything gets done. For example, there's no schedule that tells me when I need to work on documentation, when I need to handle emails, when I need to do this or that; It's up to me to manage all that sort of stuff. As long as everything gets taken care of, it doesn't matter who does what or when. I like not being micromanaged. 

What I don't like about it

• I'm technically a part-time employee. Yes, I work 40 hours and am considered a "Senior Staff Member" on my small team of 5 but it's still "part-time". This means I don't get a lot of benefits that full-time employees get such as accruing sick- and vacation-time, which makes working holiday breaks or long days after a mandatory day-off difficult. I'm also not eligible for tuition reimbursement (6 credit/hours per semester), annual reviews (aka raises) and my position could literally disappear over-night (it wouldn't but it legally could happen for any reason whatsoever). 
• The pay is pretty meh. I'm sure that everyone wants more money and most people feel like the work they do is worth more than what they're being paid, but after doing a bit of research I found that my current pay is several dollars/hour under the average pay for my job according to Payscale.com (which considers several factors such as job title, field of work, years of experience, education level, age and region. It seemed more legit than similar sites that only looked at job title). 
• Sometimes, I feel like I'm doing everything. My supervisor has taken a more hands-off, project-management role on the team. The 2 guys that were here have been promoted to Jr Admins. We hired a new staff member and gave our 2 Student Assistants more of a role on the team but it's not quite the same. The problem is that the new hire is still very new and the Student Assistants aren't IT people; They look at our Cacti graphs and they might as well be reading Arabic. This leaves them coming to me when our supervisor isn't directly available. As helpful as I can be, I'm no manager and it's very taxing to be the Go-To guy for everything my team handles. At least, not for what they're paying me. 
• Our scope of support seems to have no end. We seriously support everything. Some of it is normal stuff such as creating accounts, hardware and software related issues, network monitoring but it gets a little insane. Building Access including door schedules and card privileges? We do that. Setting up A/V items for conferences? We do that too. Assisting crazy parents with making sure their kids get properly signed up for housing? Count us in! Coffee maker broke? Some people still think that's an IT request because electricity runs through it but we don't handle those requests yet. 

Despite the love and hate I feel for this job, looking at other job listings makes me feel worse in some respects (and better that what I have isn't so bad in others). I understand that the job listing sounds far more difficult than the job actually is but what's baffling is how much employers seem to want from an IT worker for such little money. Most of the time the job listings have similar requirements. As an IT worker, you're expected to;

• Know how to work with and configure every program ever written. Lotus 123 may be older than you are but someone will still be using it so you'll need to know how to support it. 
• Have experience with computer hardware. By this, it's understood that you should be an electronics genius and build a computer from the rubble of a demolished Radio Shack.
• Know about "The Cloud". HR doesn't know what it is but they want someone who can manage one.
• Be able to code. You should know how to write major programs in PHP, Perl, Python, PowerShell, Java, Javascript, J.node, Ruby on Rails, Ruby off Rails, C, D, C#, C++, HIV+ and any other programming language you can think of. 
• Manage the network infrastructure. You should be able to design, implement and maintain an enterprise-grade network complete with multiple sites and full datacenters, both on earth and beyond (at least your Mars datacenter won't need air-conditioning).
• Be an expert in every network service imaginable. Web servers, databases, DNS, DHCP, file servers, print servers, mail servers, storage, virtualization, etc, etc.
• Be a security expert. If they can do it on NCIS, you should be able to do it too. If you can't hack into mainframes with a few angry keystrokes, what are you even doing with your life? 
• Be a good multi-tasker (which translates to being able to "do" a million things at once). 
• Be an outgoing people-person with great customer-service skills. I mean, if there's one thing computer geniuses are known for it's being well-spoken, easy-going, totally-not-introverts, right?
• Have a valid driver's license and reliable transportation because you'll probably be driving to the CEO's house when he gets a strange pop-up.
• Do it all for $12/hr. 

The average person probably will want to call BS on this but IT people and Doctors have a lot in common. In IT, there's generalists and specialists. Generalists can do a little bit of everything but aren't an expert in any one area. Specialists on the other hand are experts in their field. On the plus-side, if you need someone to manage a massive and hugely important Exchange server, you'll want someone who specializes in Exchange. This person may also be well versed in managing AD, Group Policy and Lync IM services but are going to be fairly "Geek Squad" on everything else. Same with Cisco guys; Need a Cisco-heavy network designed, deployed and managed? These are your guys. Need them to write Java applets too or provide desktop support? Good luck with that. 

Doctors have the same stuff. If you need basic medical attention, any GP (General Practitioner) will be able to sort you out. If you've got Level 60 Cancer then that same GP won't be of much help. You'll need to see a Cancer specialist (Oncologist). Not only do GP's not have the in-depth knowledge to know how to treat your advanced condition, they also may be legally and ethically obligated to refer you to a specialist. To add to the complexity of it all, a sick person can't just go to any specialist. That same oncologist can't remove that brain tumor for you (That'll require a brain surgeon; Another specialist). Need deep thorough blood testing? You'll need a Hematologist. Problems specifically with your feet? You'll need a Podiatrist. I mean, sure, you can go to an Oncologist to treat your flu but he'll write you the same prescription that a GP will and charge 5 times the price.

The other aspects I hate about job postings is that they always sound much harder than they actually are.  My job called for knowledge of RHEL in the posting and I haven't even logged into a Linux server yet after nearly a year. Even for the rest of the tasks we actually do, it's very much a tier-1/Helpdesk type gig but the posting made it sound like it was more advanced than what it is.

I think that nearly all businesses know that they need to embrace technology to compete in today's markets but I think most businesses don't know the benefits that a truly great IT setup can be and the costs involved. I've learned that you get what you pay for in most things and a good IT worker is definitely one of those.