Thanks, nowheretorun. That's true, and it doesn't help that as much as I'd like a job the idea of working is also pretty scary to me...all this talk on applications of "target-driven environments" or "exceptional customer service"...what if I can't do that? And I don't really know what sort of market any skills I have would suit, either. Thanks, that's one of the reasons I'm doing the German course I mentioned in my reply to splitimage - partly because I love German, but also because I'm hoping language skills would be an advantage. Thanks, I hope I wouldn't...

Thanks again! If there's any job where public contact is only through writing, that'd be great , but in real life I'm very shy and found working in the supermarket quite stressful.