My advice to you at this time: Do not quit your job under any circumstances. In Ontario business investment in inventories has plunged by 71 percent. Sales are poor, which means that most, if not all, businesses have a hiring freeze and all doors are shut. Cold-calling 500 companies will not work. Do not quit your job even if you are more highly trained than before. The recession could last from several months to a couple of years.

About computers:

A few years ago the IT field was great, businesses were purchasing new equipment to prevent Y2K bugs, and set up office computer networks (LANs). Once that was done, the jobs disappeared. The focus shifted to e-commerce, but only pornographers were able to make money this way. The only other e-commerce that really worked were closed-network communications systems that linked businesses to suppliers/customers more readily. Nothing new there since closed-network communications already existed - it used to be symbolically called "Just-In-Time Manufacturing", and now it is called "Right-On-Time Manufacturing".

If you know Visual Basic 6 then you definitely have a solid skill, but it still won't get you a job. In my experience computers skills are rather ubiquitous - everyone's got 'em. You are successfully keeping up with the Jones', but don't expect it to significantly advance your career. What makes a career these days? Whatever your job is right now, that's your career. And because of the recession it is impossible to change careers at the moment.

Most people just want to qualify for a new job, maybe get a promotion or a pay raise. Computers can be purchased by anyone, and even high-end software is available to ordinary people with a CD burner. However, not everyone can afford a multimillion-dollar piece of machinery, and if you are skilled in using such things, then businesses are more likely to hire you. But like I said, don't try to find a new job for at least 6-9 months, maybe more. And don't quit your current one until you get a solid offer. It would really suck if they changed their minds a few days after you started, and just layed you off.