Hire Top 1% Visual Basic Developers

What Is Visual Basic?

Visual Basic (VB) is a high-level event-driven programming language developed by Microsoft, designed to be easy to learn and rapid to develop with. Visual Basic comes in two main flavors: Visual Basic 6.0 (VB6, released 1998, no longer supported by Microsoft) and VB.NET (introduced 2002, modern and actively maintained).

Most legacy Visual Basic work involves VB6, which was widely used in the 1990s and 2000s to build Windows desktop applications. VB6 applications are easy to read for non-programmers and quick to build, making it popular in small businesses, government agencies, and corporate line-of-business applications throughout Latin America.

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), embedded in Microsoft Office (Excel, Access, Word, Outlook), is a close relative of Visual Basic and remains heavily used for Excel macros and Access database applications.

When Should You Hire a Visual Basic Developer?

VB6 legacy application maintenance: VB6 reached end-of-support in 2008, but thousands of VB6 applications remain in production across the world. If you have a VB6 application, you need developers who understand it.
VB.NET development: VB.NET is still used for enterprise applications, especially in organizations heavily invested in the Microsoft ecosystem (.NET Framework, SQL Server, Office integration).
Excel and Access automation: VBA is the language of choice for Excel macros, Access databases, and Office add-ins. If you have significant VBA code, you need developers comfortable with it.
Windows Forms applications: VB.NET with Windows Forms is still a quick way to build internal business tools and desktop utilities.
Office integration and data manipulation: Many businesses use Excel heavily for financial modeling, data analysis, and reporting. VBA expertise in Excel is valuable for automating workflows and building custom tools.
Government and enterprise legacy work: Government agencies and large corporations in Latin America often run decades-old VB6 or Access applications. Finding VB developers is challenging but necessary.
Cost control on legacy support: VB6 developers in developed markets are rare and expensive. In Latin America, you can find experienced VB developers at reasonable rates, making legacy support sustainable.

What to Look for When Hiring a Visual Basic Developer

VB6 or VB.NET fundamentals: Syntax, event handling, form design. Ask candidates to write a simple form with controls, event handlers, and basic logic from scratch.
Windows Forms experience (for VB.NET): How comfortable are they with form design, controls, layout, and event handling? This is the core of VB.NET desktop development.
Database connectivity: ADO (ActiveX Data Objects) for VB6, ADO.NET for VB.NET, or SQL connectivity. Ask about their experience with databases (SQL Server, Oracle, MySQL, Access).
VBA expertise (if needed): If you have Excel or Access applications, ask about VBA experience. VBA is similar to VB6 but different enough that candidates need specific practice.
Office automation experience: Have they automated Excel, Access, or Word from Visual Basic? Do they understand Office object models?
Code quality and architecture: Legacy VB code is often messy. Look for developers who understand separation of concerns, code organization, and how to refactor bad code.
Error handling: VB uses On Error statements for exception handling. Ask how candidates structure error handling and how they debug runtime errors.
COM and ActiveX knowledge (for VB6): VB6 uses COM (Component Object Model) extensively. Experienced VB6 developers understand COM references, DLL creation, and component registration.

Visual Basic Interview Questions

Walk me through a Visual Basic application you've built. What was the architecture? How did you structure forms and business logic?
Explain how you handle events in Visual Basic. Can you give an example of cascading events and how you avoid redundant processing?
Describe your experience connecting a Visual Basic application to a database. What methods have you used (ADO, DAO, SQL)?
Have you written VBA in Excel or Access? Walk me through a macro you've written and what problem it solved.
What's your approach to error handling in Visual Basic? How would you structure error handling in a multi-form application?
How do you organize code in Visual Basic applications? How do you prevent code duplication across forms?
Have you worked with COM objects or ActiveX controls? What was your experience integrating third-party components?
Describe your experience with multi-threaded or asynchronous operations in Visual Basic. Is this something you've had to deal with?
How do you debug Visual Basic applications when something goes wrong? What tools and techniques do you use?
Tell me about a legacy Visual Basic application you've maintained or updated. What were the biggest challenges?

Visual Basic Developer Salary & Cost Guide

LatAm Market (2026):

Junior Visual Basic Developer (0-2 years): $20,000 - $32,000 USD annually. Understands VB syntax, can write simple forms and basic database queries under supervision.
Mid-Level Visual Basic Developer (2-5 years): $32,000 - $52,000 USD annually. Can independently build business applications, comfortable with Windows Forms and database integration, able to maintain legacy code.
Senior Visual Basic Developer (5+ years): $52,000 - $75,000 USD annually. Architects applications, mentors junior developers, expert in legacy system modernization and Office automation.

US Market Comparison (2026):

Junior: $45,000 - $65,000 USD
Mid-Level: $65,000 - $95,000 USD
Senior: $95,000 - $140,000 USD

Cost advantage: A mid-level Visual Basic developer from Latin America costs 45-50% less than equivalent US talent. For legacy VB6 applications, this cost difference makes ongoing support economically viable.

Why Hire Visual Basic Developers from Latin America?

Legacy application density: Many organizations across Latin America built their internal business applications in VB6 or Access in the 1990s and 2000s. These applications are still in production. Latin American developers have experience maintaining them.

Cost-effectiveness for legacy work: Finding VB developers in developed markets is difficult and expensive because the technology is outdated. In Latin America, you can hire experienced VB developers at 45-50% discount, making long-term legacy support sustainable.

Excel and Office expertise: VBA is heavily used in Latin America for Excel financial models, reporting automation, and data processing. Many developers have deep Excel VBA experience.

Business application understanding: Many Latin American VB developers built line-of-business applications for small companies and government agencies. They understand business logic, data validation, and user workflows.

Transition expertise: VB developers often have experience modernizing legacy applications: moving VB6 to VB.NET, or replacing VBA with Python/Excel automation. They understand both old and new approaches.

Stability and focus: VB developers tend to be practical, business-focused developers rather than technology trend-chasers. Latin American VB developers often have long tenure in roles, reducing knowledge loss.

How South Matches You with Visual Basic Developers

South's vetting process for Visual Basic specialists includes:

VB6 or VB.NET assessment: We evaluate candidates on Visual Basic syntax, event handling, and form design through practical coding exercises.
Windows Forms evaluation (for VB.NET): We test understanding of forms, controls, layout, data binding, and visual design.
Database integration verification: We assess knowledge of ADO, ADO.NET, and database connectivity in Visual Basic contexts.
VBA expertise assessment (if needed): For Office automation roles, we evaluate Excel VBA knowledge through code samples and Office integration scenarios.
Legacy code quality review: We examine candidate experience with legacy code: understanding, refactoring, debugging, and documentation.
Domain fit: We match candidates with experience in your specific domain (finance, government, small business, etc.).

Our replacement guarantee: if a Visual Basic developer doesn't meet your needs within the first 30 days, we'll find a replacement at no additional cost.

FAQ

Is Visual Basic dead?

VB6 is dead (no support since 2008). VB.NET is still maintained by Microsoft but is less popular than C#. Very few new projects use Visual Basic. However, thousands of organizations still run VB6 and VB.NET applications in production. If you're maintaining legacy VB, you need VB developers.

Should I use Visual Basic for new applications?

No. If you're starting a new project, use C# instead. C# is more powerful, has a larger community, and is Microsoft's preferred language. The only reason to use Visual Basic now is if you have legacy VB code that needs maintenance.

What's the difference between VB6 and VB.NET?

VB6 is a COM-based, pre-.NET language that compiles to native machine code. VB.NET is a modern language that runs on the .NET runtime and can compile to intermediate language. VB6 is simpler and easier to learn. VB.NET is more powerful and object-oriented. They're different enough that a VB6 developer needs training to be productive in VB.NET, and vice versa.

Can I migrate VB6 to something modern?

Microsoft provides VB6 to VB.NET migration tools, but they're imperfect. Many organizations manually rewrite VB6 applications in C# or C++. Other organizations migrate business logic to Python and rebuild the UI with modern web frameworks. The effort depends on code complexity and size. Plan on 6-18 months for a mid-sized application.

What's VBA and how does it relate to Visual Basic?

VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) is a language embedded in Microsoft Office. It's similar to VB6 in syntax but runs inside Excel, Access, Word, or Outlook rather than as a standalone executable. VBA is heavily used for Excel macros and Access databases. Many VB6 developers can pick up VBA quickly, and vice versa.

How do I modernize Excel VBA code?

You have several options: (1) Rewrite in modern VBA and add better structure (2) Migrate to Python with xlwings library (3) Rebuild as web-based application with Python/JavaScript (4) Use Power Query and Power Pivot to reduce VBA dependency. Option 1 is fastest. Option 3 is most modern but requires time.

Can Visual Basic run on Mac or Linux?

VB6 is Windows-only. VB.NET can run on .NET Core (cross-platform) but most VB.NET code is Windows-only in practice. If you need cross-platform support, use C# instead.

What's the learning curve for a C# developer learning Visual Basic?

Fast. C# and VB.NET are equivalent in power and share the same runtime. A competent C# developer can become productive in VB.NET within 1-2 weeks. The syntax is different but not fundamentally harder.

What are the biggest hiring mistakes with Visual Basic?

Assuming Excel VBA experience is equivalent to VB6 or VB.NET application development. Hiring someone who can build forms but doesn't understand architecture or code quality. Underestimating the time needed to onboard on your specific legacy application. Not asking about database connectivity experience when database integration is core to your work.

Should I hire a VB developer or migrate to C#?

If your VB application is small and stable, hire a VB developer for maintenance. If it's large and you plan to add features, consider gradually migrating to C#. Start by isolating business logic, then gradually rewrite components in C# while keeping the VB forms around them. This reduces risk versus full rewrite.

Hire Proven Visual Basic Developers in Latin America Fast