VB6 Programmer

I have over 20 years experience with all types of computer (as an avid hobby), and have self-funded a distance learning VB6 course to pass the MCP exam as my lack of commercial experience appears to preclude me even from entry-level positions! I am determined to pursue a career as a programmer, and will turn my hand to ANY work if it furnishes me with experience.

My interest in computer programming stretches right back to 1981 and the days of the Sinclair ZX81. I taught myself to program in BASIC on the classic rubber keys of the Spectrum, and wrote several games and other small programs, occasionally dipping into the world of Z80 machine code for spot effects and sounds. During the 80s I owned several computers including a Texas TI-99/4A, an Amstrad PCW8256 and a Commodore Amiga. I bought a second-hand 386 in 1995 (my first contact with the IBM PC), and over the next few years my interest became something of an obsession, leading to a small business which I ran alongside my full-time job, building and troubleshooting PCs, including one I constructed for my place of work. Using a second-hand copy of Visual Basic 4 (with no documentation) I taught myself enough about object-oriented programming to design and write a program to devise nursing rotas. The program was merely a way for me to learn the language in a real-world application, and never reached commercial maturity, but writing it was exciting, and it was the catalyst in my decision to aim to become a programmer by profession. On discovering that 99% of programming vacancies demanded commercial experience, and frustrated by the inherent vicious circle, I undertook an ICS distance learning course in VB6 and completed it in whatever spare hours I had each week, culminating in my success in the MCP exam in January 2003.