Gabe Goldberg wrote:
Steve Comstock wrote:
So, I'm _older_ than a baby boomer (based on your definition below;
I was born in 1944). But I'll keep working because I enjoy the work
_and_ because I need to.
Thanks for quick reply -- you're first in line!
I was quoting a generational definition, not setting one. As far as I'm
concerned you're welcome to call yourself a precocious baby boomer!
I looked at your About page -- very interesting! You've been at this for
a while. May I quote from that, illustrating how your training business
has grown?
Sure.
And some follow-up questions:
What was your background (educational, prior jobs, etc.) before you
joined IBM?
MS degree in mathematics, U. of Illinois. First job was as
an instructor in the math department of the University of
Minnesota, Duluth campus. Worked there for two years, then
decided if I were going to stay in academia that I needed
to get a PhD. Got an assistantship at the University of
New Mexico, so packed up my family and moved to Albuquerque.
After a month, I realized that we couldn't live on the
income from the assistantship. So I applied to the local
IBM branch, where I was hired to be an SE (remember those?).
What was your work at IBM and how long did you work there?
1968-1971: SE in Albuquerque
1971-1973: Instructor in IBM ed center, teaching customer classes
1973-1975: Education development, developing training
for the MSS (Mass Storage System); lived in
Denver, worked at the Boulder plant, was
managed from Poughkeepsie
Then, in 1975, I found myself calculating my pension - and
I was only 31! Good sign to move on. IBM was a great place
to work, I learned all my basic skills there. But I needed
to be independent.
How have the courses you offer evolved since 1975?
When I first went in to the training business, I lectured
and wrote on the black board; the students had to take a
lot of notes. Only the exercise descriptions were typed
and handed out. It took several years before I realized I
needed to use a desktop publishing system and produce
more professional materials.
Of course, technology changes in this business, and one
must keep up. In a nutshell, I had to add courses in
TSO/ISPF, CLIST, REXX, Dialog Manager, VSAM; had to keep
current in Assembler, PL/I, and COBOL. Had to connect
with other like minded people to develop courses in DB2,
C, CICS, and more. Lately I've focused on Language
Environment and z/OS UNIX (emphasis of running websites
under z/OS).
Kind regards,
-Steve Comstock
The Trainer's Friend, Inc.
303-393-8716
http://www.trainersfriend.com
z/OS Application development made easier
* Our classes include
+ How things work
+ Programming examples with realistic applications
+ Starter / skeleton code
+ Complete working programs
+ Useful utilities and subroutines
+ Tips and techniques
==> Check out the Trainer's Friend Store to purchase z/OS <==
==> application developer toolkits. Sample code in four <==
==> programming languages, JCL to Assemble or compile, <==
==> bind and test. <==
==> http://www.trainersfriend.com/TTFStore/index.html <==
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