Hi. I'm stuck in a Corp. Environment, and here's no-one to guide me in challenging and improving my skills.

I need a programming mentor, if anyone is up for the task?

I'm craving for a programming life that challenges my intellect, not just my patience. Developing database front ends and tests... is just not it.

I'm mainly working in VB.Net & C#.Net, SQL and SAS.
And then the odd-easy-to-master languages

Guys, this place (my job) is a waste of my talent... Please help me in my quest to grow my skills in programming.

Transition into freelance.

VM is right, and if you stick around, you'll find he's right pretty often.

But don't go freelance until databasing and the like are mastered. Your job wants them for the same reason your freelance clients will.

Consider dropping VB, if you think you might want to work for yourself.

Feel free to ask questions my way. C# and T-SQL are my specialties.

Another approach (especially because you are learning) is to try to learn as much as possible for the job you do want.

When you go to the new place, show them what you know. They won't know that it wasn't your responsibility at your current job. If they ask be honest. They will most likely respect your honesty and admire the fact that you strived to go above and beyond.

For a starter, try doing programming exercises like these:
http://codekata.pragprog.com/
http://www.google.com/search?q=programming+exercises

Then try to learn a framework or two and some big libraries for the language you want to focus on.
A cool one would be Lucene.net (since you are doing C#). Building a real search engine can be good for your resume.

Also, post code up on your website (get one if you don't have one). It demonstrates that you are active and care about doing it beyond the normal workday.

Wow, Thanks guys... Now I have plenty of homework
I found an e-book about freelancing, and the guy says that it's the best way to go. (Nothing beats choosing what projects you want to work on). But as I'm sitting here, I know that I still need to learn a bit more before I quit my job here.

LN, I took up your advice on mastering databases. (Just the mindset change, made a huge difference).
The only reason we're mainly programming in VB is because its faster to type, and as we're only really writing templates and front-ends, we won't use the full power of C#. (If our program evolves past a front-end, I'll have to convert it to C# to do some advanced data manipulation)
*A moment of Glory: My program imports Excel files faster than SAS, woohoo!*

WC4B, Thanks for the directions, I'll work through the exercises. As for building a Search Engine, that’s a great idea. I've just received the assignment to fix our CIPRO database, and normal SQL queries won't do the trick. Thanks.

Is there a specific direction in programming that's very algebra based? All i know of is DirectX, and perhaps multicore programming (for PS3)