>Hey Alan,
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>>My first programming job about 15 years ago (I was re-deploying myself after deciding I didn't want to do insurance any more) was in Clipper. I'd never seen clipper before, but the weekend prior to the interview, I went to the bookstore and browsed clipper books. When I went in for the interview, I told the interviewer (prospective boss, not headhunter) that I knew no clipper, but that I had browsed some books and I knew I could learn it without too much trouble.
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>Ach! A baby :-)

I had an Apple II+ at home which I bought in something like about 1980 or thereabouts and taught myself, first applesoft basic, and then 'C'. Knowing 'C' was one of the reasons I figured I could handle clipper without too much trouble. Of course, when I learned 'C', I had to unlearn a lot of stuff I learned in Applesoft. I also had a Z80 card and learned some CPM which ended up being mostly useless. When the company I was working for (as a reinsurance department manager) wanted to build a new underwriting and claims system, I was asked to be the user side project manager because they felt that I could talk both languages - Insurancese and computerese. I decided not to disabuse them of that concept.

Once that was over (4 years - on time and under budget), I didn't really have a job any more, so I was 'outplaced'. When I went for interviews at other reinsurance companies, I felt like I wasn't doing very well. That seemed odd because I usually interviewed reasonably well. When I sat down and really thought about it, I realised that it was because I didn't want the jobs. Attitude again. I wanted to get into programming. I went back to school and was lucky enough to get that job within 2 months of finishing. That was 1993. I also took the job at a salary 2/3 of what I was earning previously.

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>I had done some small indie consulting for a while and worked as a data analyst for a firm in CT that was trying to systemize AT&T's old manual system for tracking what phone cables and cable pairs went into which addresses. This was 1982. As I left they were evaluating dBase II. I wrote an inventory system for a small bookstore in 1980 using Applesoft and 6502 Assembler in 1980 (!) as an indie while still in the USAF.
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>In 1983 I was hired as a "research analyst" contractor (whatever that was) and that evolved into tweaking and then, eventually, reprogramming a sales analysis system from IBM Basic on a Displaywriter dedicated WP system to a DBMS called "Condor 3" on PC XTs. While I was finalizing that system, a Belgian contractor and I became friends and he introduced me to Clipper, the 1983 version. I was hooked and soon got my employer to purchase both Clipper for our department and then dBase III.
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>Lucky me, I was introduced to two very marketable langauge skills while employed for other reasons.
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>>I got hired, and while I grant that the field was a bit less crowded 15 years ago, still, there were other candidates who probably had more programming experience than I did, but I think he just liked my attitude. Attitude means an awful lot.
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>When I was completely independent in 1984 I thought I knew more than I really did, heh, but attitude carried the day when I took a new job and, later, more solo contracts. Attitude indeed counts for a lot. A good employer will look through the hard experience numbers to the gumption and flexibility and that's exposed by a strong, positive attitude.