On Wed, 10 May 2006 12:05:40 EDT, Ed Finnell wrote:
>In a message dated 5/10/2006 10:34:58 A.M. TS in Central Daylight Time,
writes:
>
>>Your statement is a popularly repeated myth but inaccurate. Coders CAN
>>be found and they will continue to exist. Corporate CIOs like to push
>>the myth because it gets them bigger budgets and vendors like to push
>>the myth... (snipped by Ed because he got tired?)
>>>
>Rubbish. Clerks(mult-lingual) used to debug ALC for students as well as
>mount tapes in a pinch. Most of the silver backs on this list are not
>gonna make it to the next decade or so. They can be found but are not
>plentiful or cheap.
Your argument refutes itself:
If the clerks (mult(i)-lingual) used to exist to debug ALC for students
then they either (a) still exist and could help if their skills were
refreshed or (b) could easily be reconstituted from a similar mix ("just
add water").
Seriously, ALC isn't magic and isn't particularly difficult to learn. (It
is easier to learn than, say, Chinese... and (surprise!) there are a
growing number of Chinese who are, in fact, learning mainframes now - maybe
that's your supply?
> The rest are converting to *Nix or contemplating early retirement.
Early retirement won't last -- there are ample reasons to believe the
retirees will come back or work (at least) part time. Your local Wal-Mart
doesn't have a monopoly on retirement jobs (and doesn't pay well enough to
be considered a strong competitor in the ALC marketplace, for sure).
> Who you gonna call at o'dark thirty, Exit busters?
Why not?
And as for the "why aren't university students signing up for CompSci
majors anymore?" question -- have you seriously looked at many CompSci
department's courses these days? They STINK!! I thought about going back
for additional work and couldn't believe the mess my former university had
become. I checked around - they "compete" but they seem to be competing
for a multi-way tie for last place. (The local "U" won't see any of my
money either.)
I was very disappointed and entirely unimpressed.
--
Tom Schmidt
Madison, WI
(no where near retirement age - I've got a good decade-and-a-half at
least!)
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