Gidday, I have recently started working as a junior developer... Basically it’s a really hard road. I am have come from a very different background to you, having worked in the franchise industry (at the master franchise level)for 10 years, so my business skills are top notch - something that a lot of jobs I saw advertised would like in candidates. Two years ago I started training at an "IT Academy" in Auckland. The training was very specific and geared towards C# development using the Microsoft curriculum. At the end of my 'diploma' I sat and passed the SQL server 2005 exam, gaining my MCP certification. I do not believe that certifications are useless as has been said; they WILL get you passed the HR department. You may need to in fact start working for FREE... and even that offer might not get you a job. After having been made redundant a month ago I have just landed a 1 month contract (with a view to permanent). Was there any one thing that I think landed me the job? Yes... commercial experience... I knew what "coding standards" are, I knew what 'source control" was and I could show some of my code. So where to from here for you... learn how to code, find a coding standard on the net and adopt it as your own. And get out there and start doing websites for people, for Free! (They pay hosting etc...) And when you go for an interview, you can show some of your work. Find out about source control, SVN is free (and widely adopted). Good Luck