Yay me!
Sometimes patience is rewarded.
I just got a call from my boss’s boss to say that starting January 6th I am only a half-time data entry grunt—the rest of the time I will be programming!
The Survey Center has got a gigantic survey in that is swamping their current programming staff, and apparently my nonexistent Visual Basic expertise was enough to convince them that I could learn fast enough to take some of the load off. (They don’t do all their work in Access and VB, thankfully. Some gizmo called the CASES system that I’ve never heard of. Reading up on it now, if the page decides to load.)
Means a bit of a raise (don’t know how much yet), a less embarrassing résumé entry, and obviously a much more interesting job. Woo-hoo!
And looking into the future—I ought to be just plain set as far as library school tuition goes, assuming I am admitted. If I’m a Real Programmer by then, and I see no reason I won’t be, they’ll jump to keep me at graduate-assistant prices. Real Programmers, even part-time, cost a lot more than that.
Means I won’t have to suck up to the Department from Hell to get a teaching position. I can live with that. Quite comfortably.