I have always worked full time for someone else from leaving school.  Served a Telecommunications apprenticeship learning the traditional fault finding techniques durning my Army basic training, looking back 3 years well spent. I served 16 years in peacetime postings and operational tours, working on a very wide range of equipment including telephone exchanges, mobile satellite, antennas and masts, cables, computer systems etc… Then spent 6 years at Orange trained on Nokia switches, the full range of mobile data equipment, yes I was there at the start of it all. Trained as a level SCO Unix administrator supporting Unix servers up and down the country. Other employments trained and experienced on all Microsoft products, hardware, peripherals, data networking. Time to step out on my own and use all that experience assisting others.