>Realistically, it'll take 6 months to learn PB well enough to be good at it. And you may be better off learning PB as a lone contractor; rates are higher (at least in USA) and there are longer, more 9-5 contracts.

Thanks for the advice, im currently perm. looking for my first contract and a few of my contractor friends have started learing PB, but they have gone straight from city contracts in 2.6 to PB with no OOP or CS exp. so its been hard to compare for me personally. Ive found some more info. in the last hour from friends that learning the PFC is a chore, and the exams are a lot more strict. You have to wait 3 months for a resit, and then redo the lot if you fail the advanced exam.

Thanks for the advice
Malcolm