Cobol jobscene

[Guest_imported]

I'm new to Cobol, but have been working my way through "Teach yourself Cobol in 24 hrs". My question is this - I've been programming mainly as a hobby for the last 6 years in a number of languages: Foxpro, Delphi; C++.
My job is as a Production manager for an electronics company. I'm 36 yrs and looking to doing something new. What are my chances of getting into the professional Cobol job scene? I'm willing to do whatever it takes!

HungryOne

 

[Crox]

Hi,

It can be very helpful to do also a study of structured programming like JSP.

There are free manuals for things like DB2, JCL and COBOL on IBM's site. If you know what is inside, it will help also.

If you understand a book like 'COBOL from Micro to Mainframe' will also help.

Understanding an editor like ISPF on the mainframe will help. There are mainframe-look-alike editors like SPF/SE from Command Technology Corporation. I use SPFGUI 4.0 from them. On the mainframe I use ISPF.

After doing all this, you write a good CV with these skills on it. Send it with your motivation to some bigger financial companies. They appreciate these kind of things and can offer you a job.

Regards and good luck!

Crox

 

[StephenJSpiro]

Right now, the job scene in COBOL (and most other DP skills) is awful. Also, more and more, business knowledge is required. Good luck!

Stephen J Spiro

 

[slade]

Hi,

You didn't mention a college degree. If you have one, you may want to investigate some of the trainee programs that some of the larger organizations offer. If you show an aptitude for pgming (and I'm sure you do, with 6 years of hobbyist bkgrnd), you should be a shoo-in.

Since you're looking for a first job in pgming, you may want to concentrate on some of the newer languages c, c++, java, etc. That seems to be where the furure is at the moment. Once you're established in the client/server/internet scene, you'll move from language to language as a matter of course.

I don't mean to imply that you disregard COBOL completely, but consider it as a 2nd language.

As Crox said, mention your efforts to learn the technology, it's sure to impress.

Just an old dinosaur's perspective.

Jack

 

[Crox]

Hi,

If you study things like JAVA, C++, C#, etc., you are in competition with all the kids leaving school and so. That is much more difficult.

Also the kids think that COBOL is old stuff. They learn that at school, the can't help themselves. But at the mainframe sites there is still a big demand for people whom are able to write, maintain and understand COBOL sources because still most of the systems are written in it.

COBOL has object orientation nowadays, works with the Internet and is even better with that than C++. COBOL is renewing itself every time again, but still compatible with the old sources.

Understand that COBOL is easy to understand but C is much like 'SM-'bler

Also COBOL survives all the times, whatever they say. In 1980 people warned me that the COBOL I knew was going to disappear. 4GL's came and went away. Same warnings. Even nowadays I am not impressed by the capabilities of something like COOL:GEN.

It is very probable that you can earn your money with COBOL until 2030.

So I find it a good ideay to continu with COBOL!

Regards,

Crox

 

[claudeb]

Since you are a hungry one, let me tell you my story: we were poor!.
This is meant to be heard more than read.
(I am just teasing)
enjoy

http://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~j-hamer/we-were-poor.html

 

[StephenJSpiro]

One advantage to learning COBOL is that there is more demand for juniors that there are juniors, while (for now) there are more seniors than there are jobs for seniors...


The fools in the schools are making junior COBOL programmers SCARCE!

Stephen J Spiro

 

[Guest_imported]

Thanks for the feedback guys - I liked the story also!

 

[gerardoescobedo]

This subject is way off date. It's March now, anyway, here I go.

I am 34, and I learned 10 yrs ago at college, that COBOL was death or was in the process. Then I DID teach that same thing in a local high school. But then I came to my current job, and I found that COBOL is alive. Not only that, I learned that most of the COBOL seniors are about to retire, and there are not many COBOL juniors. A coworker just told me that two of them will retire in a couple of years, and the work is still comming.

So the next thing for us COBOL "kids", is likely to have many job offers in many companies. How many companies? A lot. Big industries still use COBOL or mainframe related technology, and they will pay COBOL "kids" big bucks instead of upgrading their systems to a visual langauge that could mean billions of dollars in costs.

Want to find a visual programmer? Easy.

Want to find a COBOL-mainframe related programmer? Not that easy.

So, there it is... and now I have to get back to my IMS/VS DL/I COBOL program before the day ends and go to my senior COBOL mentor (excellent teacher, by the way).