Was doing contract work for IBM in sept 2001; system shipped to India; we were all laid off. I have never been able to find a job as a programmer since then. I even went back to school and passed an Oracle 8i dba certification course to no avail. I work as a computer field tech for a nationwide tax firm, making 75% less money, but would love a chance to get back into it.
Learn .NET and Silverlight. Nice combo right now.