Now 56, Horne had spent 25 years working in the telecommunications industry before retiring from in 2002. Six years later, Horne says he knew that the IT field had changed dramatically, rendering him "out of step" with cutting-edge IT.

But after watching his retirement savings dwindle and the demand for small side projects disappear, Horne says he was "economically motivated" to re-enter the workforce. A casual meet-and-greet seemed like a perfect opportunity for the baby boomer to get his feet wet.

Horne was in for a shock, however. Expecting an informal recruiting event, he found himself in the thick of what "felt like a discotheque," surrounded by throngs of aggressive twentysomethings jostling for the attention of senior-level managers and barking into their cell phones.

"They were talking a lot, the noise was deafening, and the atmosphere was loud, confused and not very businesslike," Horne recalls.

His experience is far from unique. Throughout busy job fairs, crowded boardrooms and hectic IT departments across the U.S., a battle royal is brewing between aging baby boomers and -- two distinct generations with differing work styles, conflicting cultures and disparate skill sets.