First off.. I want to say that I cannot believe that it took me this long to find such a cool site that is so well put together and informative.

I am fairly n00bish to everthing PC with only a couple of years experience under my belt. I have taken classes on networking and have a couple of MCP's (but doesn't everyone?) I have been fascinated with programming,networking, and security - but they are all in thier own little world.. but so far I have invested more time and effort into C++ than anything else and I keep coming back. I currently work in a large government ran facility but the work is just not that interesting- nor does it pay that well (IT related) and the good jobs always seem to go to a buddy or someone with 8029384903 years experience.. I have a few books and have dl'd a couple of compilers. I guess this is where the n00b questions come in..
What is the most common, widely used software that is also in the real world? (as far as C,C++ or C# is concnerned). I enjoy all things computer - but I just have no sense of direction...maybe C++ or programming isn't right for me..
Any suggestions would be great.. TIA.
.