Kath Pelletti
KP at sdsonline.net
Tue Feb 22 16:43:33 CST 2005
Hi Steve - it's been so interesting to read everyone's stories, so here's my 2 cents.. - I fell into IT after doing an Arts degree in Spanish and French. Language and music graduates were bombarded with offers from all sorts of companies that year (1982) as some research had come out indicating that anyone with an ability in music and language would probably succeed with the logic of computer programming and they were very short of IT graduates. They paid for us (I decided to give it a go, not finding a job in languages that I really wanted) to do a course which took 12 months and then took me on as trainee computer programmer - using Assembler (!) and Cobol. I found that I loved programming and later moved on to another firm using RPGII. Then changed to Analyst and Business Analyst. No experience with personal PC's which were very new back then but at one point I was asked to knock up a realtional db in Paradox using PAL. Loved it! So that was my introduction to small relational db's. Years later I cut back a bit on work to have my 3 children and was offered a part-time job doing computer training (which I still do a bit) so I had to learn Access to give the course. Trainees would approach us after the courses for help and I could see these applications whcih were going out without proper planning, testing etc. so I started offering those services on behalf of the training company. After a while I realised that I was becoming a one man band - making the sales pitch (still not a forte), designing the system, programming, testing and training the staff for inplementation - why do all this for someone else? So for the last 5 years I have been running my own small company doing just that - writing customised apps for clients using almost 100% Access - usually in 2000. Sometimes I am asked to create someting in Word or Excel. I also now do a bit of project management and user acceptance testing on behalf of clients. Not much change in the type of work over the 5 years - no one has asked me for Xp yet at all - so still implementing all Access 2000. Kath >>> -----Original Message----- >>> From: Steve Erbach [mailto:erbachs at gmail.com] >>> Sent: 21 February 2005 12:44 >>> To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving >>> Subject: Re: [AccessD] OT: What are you lot doing now and then? >>> >>> Roz, Gustav, John C., Gary, Jeffrey, Jim D. Doris, Debbie, Brett, >>> Charlotte, Ken, Mark, John B., Stuart, William, Rocky, Jim L., Jim H., >>> Andy, Randy, and Tom, >>> >>> Thank you all very much for your responses. Our glorious leader, Mr. >>> Bartow, has asked me to write an article for the newsletter based on >>> the responses you've given. So I'm asking if any of you have any >>> objections to letting me abridge your responses for that purpose? It >>> would also be helpful if those of you who already gave an >> "abridged" >>> version for the survey could flesh out your responses a bit, if you >>> have the time. I would appreciate it. Everyone has an interesting >>> story to tell about his or her own growth in the computer field. >>> >>> I'm so glad that 21 of you have responded so far. Any others? >>> >>> Steve Erbach >>> Neenah, WI >>> www.swerbach.com/security >>> >>> ______________________________________________ Kath Pelletti Software Design & Solutions Pty Ltd. Ph: 9505-6714 Fax: 9505-6430 KP at SDSOnline.net