Employee outlook for Ms Access & VBA

[GBalcom]

Not sure if this is the place to post this or not.....but I'd like to ask a general question, so here it is...

How much of your job is spent working in Access or other database software? What type of role do you have with your firm? Is your firm Large or small?....

I've spent a lot of time in the past 6-9 months learning all I can about Access....Now I'm learning all I can about VBA with the help of this forum and some great books.....

The question I'm starting to ask myself is if it's worthwhile....

I really like doing this stuff and wouldn't mind doing it full-time at some point...I just don't know if that is common....

I'm not against learning another language, but I'm already in my mid-30's, and there are a lot of people coming out of school that would know much more than me I'm sure.

Thanks for any insight....

 

[Pat Hartman]

What you have that the new graduates don't have is real world experience. Don't ever underestimate that. When you develop Access applications, you are the chief cook and bottle washer. You must be able to analyze the problem and design a solution. You must understand database design, you must know VBA, you must be a graphical designer so that your forms/reports are pleasing and informative. You must be able to produce user-friendly documentation. And above all you must be able to understand the business in order to create a viable solution. This goes so far beyond coding skills that it is not even in the same universe. MS touts Access as a tool for power users and downplays it to the point of trivializing it. This gives corporations the misguided sense that anyone who is willing to sit in front of a computer is capable of creating an Access application. As we all know that is very far from reality.

I have been working exclusively with Access for 20 years. Before that I worked on mainframe applications. I create applications that run the gamut. Very early on in mty career I decided that I was never going to become the resident expert in payroll or accounts payable or inventory or anything! Every new project is an adventure. I am currently deep into development on a reinsurance application for a client that processes claims and payments for multiple insurance companies and at the same time, I'm working on a drawing management application for a steel company. Aside from being reasonable technically proficient, my biggest talent is the ability to listen to people and understand their problem. I can do that for any kind of company because I have seen just about every back office application known to man and have a good understanding of how the pieces all connect together.

 

[Lightwave]

Access is a brilliant start to developing an excellent understanding of programming and designing environments it can also be used as an end in itself. It will teach you about all aspects of normalization , effiicent writing of queries and linking to powerful SQL datbases.

Any knowledge you learn about Access and visual basic will be directly transferrable to environments such as C# & C++.

It's sweet spot is unique smallish desktop departmental solutions so if you are looking for rolls and jobs (at least initially) your probably looking at smallish departments which can be within big or small companies. With practice you will be able to provide solutions for large departments however typically IT will ring fence these projects and go with different technologies. Irrespective the way you normalise those projects will be exactly the same as you would if you were designing an access database.

The majority of places that you work will only give you the Access IDE unless you are specifically employed in a pure IT or engineering roll it is unlikely that you wil be given an appropriate IDE such as Visual Studio or Qt Creator (a C++ gui design IDE). They will also probably want people with computer science degree backgrounds unless you have shown exceptional previous example works for these rolls.

Even if you can get granted the permissions for Visual Studio or Qt it is very likely that for business intelligence tools you will be far more productive in Access.

Use access for the specific task that you are intersted in and it will prove very useful. Maybe learn another language to hit their particular sweet spots. C# is not particularly different from VB but there isn't a datbase IDE out there that really uses it and C++ really is aimed at a very different more engineering based focus think running cross platform applications and you are almost never likely to get a job in this arena unless you are just totally exceptional or you are going into pure engineering.

Although not directly employed by IT nearly all my work is now associated with access.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Your profile doesn't specify a location but the bigger the metropolitain area you live in, the more opportunities you'll find. You might consider creating applications for free or a nominal charge for local charities or religious organizations. If you already have a full time job, you can look for small projects you can do part time. Create some marketing materials and business cards. Attend local business meetings such as the chamber of commerce and network.

Small companies can't spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars for web developers (the latest IT craze) nor can they waste the time waiting for an app to be developed by these people. They need small, focused apps to capitalize on immediate opportunities. You'll find many you can do for a few hundred dollars. Each one will be a learning experience and will add to your resume.

 

[GBalcom]

Pat,
Thank you very much for your post on the forum...Its nice to hear from someone with your experience. My career to date has revolved out of woodworking. I started on the shop floor, then drawings, project management, etc. I've also led a few software implementations, so that experience must count for something. It appears that you have your own business as a consultant. I'm seriously considering making databases for others part time. I have a few more questions for you if you don't mind answering them.
Are businesses that hire you typically large? It seems building a database at the going rate is a serious investment that a smaller company may not be able to handle.
In your opinion, what is the best way to get started with such a venture?
I've done a few databases where I work that are single purpose, to help departments pull more information out of our SQL databases, or to fill in the blanks....Is this more typical than a full application?

Thanks for your advice in this matter.

 

[Pat Hartman]

Are businesses that hire you typically large?

They range from mom and pop shops to household named like Clairol and Sikorsky. Getting jobs at large companies is problematic unless you have someone on the inside. Most of them use a purchasing department and prefer to work with a limited number of vendors. I managed to get myself (my company actually) on the preferred vendor list for United Technologies so I can work directly for any of their divisions but for other large companies, I subcontract with a few agencies.

It seems building a database at the going rate is a serious investment that a smaller company may not be able to handle

Small companies do have a smaller budget to work with but they are more flexible and won't drive you crazy with 8 testing environments that your app has to move through on its journey into production. Big companies frequently make applications cost significantly more than they needed to. Even small companies understand that they need to spend money to make money. If you develop an application that can eliminate 10 manhours of work per week, that is huge to them and they are willing to pay for it.

what is the best way to get started with such a venture

In addition to the suggestions I posted earlier, look at guru.com. You will be competing against people who are asking $3 per hour so you won't get jobs from people who think cost is the only criteria. You will get jobs from people who understand that they get much better applications when they are built by people who understand business culture and can communicate effectivly in English. I've actually gotten two of my longest running and most lucrative assignments via guru. I have one client that originated there over 5 years ago. We dropped guru as a middle man once we established mutual trust. But that is the nice thing about using guru with strangers is you get some protection that you will be paid for your work.