Let me ask you this then, how often (if ever) have you modified an assembly? I ask because I'm currently reading 3 chapters on this, and yet I don't see it being something that I'll need to do. And if I do it's probably only once a year if that.

To be honest I'm worried about changing careers. I've been with my current job for 8 years in telecommunications. Over the years I've taught myself Access, VB, some SQL, and ASP, and all the general stuff like HTML. I hate my job, and have for 71/2 years. I think I would like to program applications and web development, as it's how I spend my spare time here at work. I like it, but studying for the exams, I wonder if I have a realistic view of what the job would really entail. I also wonder if I'm good enough to do this on my own, as my job. Am I gonna show up to a new job, and stare at people in a dazed confused look, as they describe my duties? I know this isn't something you can answer, but it's what I'm worried about. I'd hate to leave 8 years of seniority to end up in a job that I either hate or get fired from for not knowing enough. I can't afford to start off as an intern either, as I'm already making $50,000 a year in my current job. So I'd have to jump in as a full time developer.

This is why I'm asking these questions, I'm hoping to get some kind of idea of what it's really like to program full time. I'm looking at VB .Net and ASP .Net languages, leaning towards web development with a backend database.

I don't even know if it's possible for people to provide the information I'm looking for as everyone has different kinds of jobs, but any kind of insight would be appreciated.