Back in 1997/1998 I taught myself C and HTML. I moved on to Java at some point and then in 1999/2000 I went to night school to "legitimize" my skills with a formal education where we studied C/C++, Java, VB 6.0 and web development using ASP. I received the equivalent to an associates degree in computer programming/web development towards the end of 2000.

I was finally able to utilize my skills in some form in 2003 by creating Access DBs to track training and employee info for my department. While my skills did land me the job they weren't used much after I created the databases. I became more or less a data entry/trainer. In 2005 I took the lead on our work and asset management system. During the implementation phase there was tons to do. Basically I had to design the entire system from scratch since their existing paper-based system was ineffective. Now all I seem to do is baby sit the DB, assist in patch and hotfix installs and write some PL/SQL Flex SQL and create/run COGNOS reports. My DB access is limited to the application itself (Datastream 7i) and Read Only SQL+ access.

Coming back to this forum once again I realize just how "behind the times" my skills are. I usually put in a 50+ hour work week and my weekends can be limited. I don't really have the time nor the will to go back to night school. If you've "been there, done that", how do you keep your existing skills sharp and also find the time to learn new and emerging tech?