>So, now I'm unemployed.

I'm sorry to hear that. Hope this goes well for you.

>Any (helpful) suggestions on what I should do, VB or other, would be appreciated.

Maybe you can get a JAVA job faster? Not all that hard to learn, but you'll have to buy a tool you don't already have (unless you just use the compiler).

>I don't have much in savings, so whatever I do I need to do quick.

That means SQL Server maybe something you can't afford, get MSDE right away then. You can learn SQL server on MSDE (its free) and the upsize later on.