I am currently considering pursuing a career in IT and have just finished my degree in History. I realise that they are at two different ends of the career spectrum. However I have previous basic knowledge of Visual Basic and at the moment I am thinking about going down the programming route, I have been told there are many well paying jobs within this sector. Hence I was wondering if taking a Microsoft VB.net certificate was the best option? Are there jobs in the programming sector? Do companies prefer experience over certification and hence I would be wasting my time and should consider different options? I am stuck between a rock and a hard place at the moment and all advice would be welcome!

Visual Basic programming might be a good area to get into, bust just be sure that it's something that can't be outsourced.