Thanks for that well thought out response.

B) you might need to re-evaluate your career approach.

That's pretty much where I'm at now. I got a BA in Economics from the UW in 1988. My favorite class was "Qualitative Methods 200"- BASIC programming for the VAX. This was back in the days when Apple's computer was called a "Macintosh" and you could buy one through the school at half price-$2500. It was also before MCSE's MCDBA's and such. And if memory serves, it was before the Internet.

I didn't like wearing suits so I went into construction to "have something practical to fall back on" I was well paid but rarely enjoyed what I was doing. I did like the people I worked with though.

The company closed its doors after 25 years of success in Seattle and moved all operations to Nevada. It seemed like a good time for a change in my life.

I cashed in my 401k and decided to do something different. I spent almost $6000 on private tech schools learning things like HTML VB6 and SQL design. I loved the programming classes. I thought Software Test Engineer sounded kinda cool and from what I was told, some people have moved from testing to development.

I finally got a job (internship, not-for-hire) four months ago testing web-based mortgage origination software. I work 40-50 hrs a week and I love it. I work next to the "Bull Pen" and keep one ear open to learn what I can from the developers conversations. I have two leads and there both great. I’ve learned a lot.

Yes, capitalism puts a large measure of responsibility on the individual. That can be either very scary... (Tell me about it, I'm just about out of cash)...or very empowering depending on a number of things, both tangible and non.

I am trying to be optimistic. The thought of landing any job in software gets me excited.

I got an informal job offer from the IT department even though I don't know much about networking. They want someone in about two months and said if I can learn TCP/IP and IIS they will try to get me hired. I’m encouraged but I might be working at McDonalds by then ;)

Remaining optimistic is work. Sometimes looking for tech work in Seattle now seems like holding a ticket for the Titanic. “Survival job” is a term you hear often. Even after having my resume professionally done, I’ve gotten only one response from the Internet. The jobs that are advertised ask for 3-5 years experience and usually a few more skills than I have fingers. When I click “send” on an email with my resume attached it’s starting to remind me of pulling the lever on the toilet.

I'd never have found my current situation if I hadn't been willing to re-visit some choices I'd previously made and change my path from time to time.

Changing paths is not the scary part. The scary part is not knowing what’s around the bend. I guess it doesn’t matter if you just keep walking.

Thanks Again McFly

RobVG