Agreed. If it's really an Entry-Level position, any initial knowledge
of System Programming tasks is not nearly as important as an insatiable
curiosity about how software and hardware works and a demonstrated
general aptitude for understanding computer hardware and programming.
By the time I was in graduate school I was self-taught in assembly
language for seven different machine architectures and in Fortran and
several other programming languages. I did some limited systems
programming work, but only on CDC-6000 series architecture as part of my
graduate research. My experience with S/360 architecture was limited to
book learning, as an occasional user, and later in teaching programming
and algorithm courses for several years, including S/360 assembly
programming under the ASSIST environment.
I was offered and accepted a job as a Systems Programmer in a S/360
DOS/VS environment, and to become useful spent most of my first month
reading six shelf-feet of manuals and learning about the local
installation conventions and hardware from our Director and the one
other Systems Programmer. Seven years later with the help of several
formal IBM courses and reading of many more manuals, I was also a VM
Systems Programmer, an MVS Systems Programmer, and was the main
technical support for our installation's conversion from DOS to MVS. If
I had been selected only on my immediate ability to do the System
Programming tasks of the moment, I could have been a poor match for
their needs just a few years down the road. I would suspect a logical
mind, interest in continuing education, and a general fascination for
computers are still the most critical skills for a good Systems
Programmer.
Joel C. Ewing
On 01/31/2014 10:46 AM, Stephen Bielskie wrote:
> I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to get into
> mainframe systems programming diretly out of college in 1998. At a local job
> fair, I spoke to a recruiter that told me if I like to get into the "guts" of
> the operating system and I am willing to learn mainframe then I have a
> position for you.
>
> A few weeks later, I started in what my employer called ELSP training, or
> Entry Level Systems Progamming training, as you may have guessed. I spent
> 6-8 weeks in different areas and different shifts learning the ins and outs
> of the print room, tape library, mainframe and midrange ops, security,
> storage, and production control. The program itself spanned nearly 2 years
> and was well thought out and the people I worked with were extremely
> supportive and tolerant of my initial ignorance of the platform. All of the
> pieces fit together nicely in my mind by the time I completed the program.
>
> I've been a systems programmer for over 15 years now and my opinion of what
> is required for an entry level systems programmer is likely less stringent
> than many on this list would indicate. My candidate would (in no particular
> order):
>
> 1) Possess a willingness to learn something new, knowing you're not going to
> be very good at it in the beginning until you learn the basics
> 2) Enjoy/able to solve logic puzzles (my first employer gave a screening test
> that had you following pointers through a mad up virtual memory map - had 4
> hours to complete it)
> 3) Demonstrate self-motivation
> 4) Willing to ask questions for thier own benefit and knowledge
> 5) Willing to particpate in trouble calls, off hour calls, and weekend work
> 6) Has basic understanding of how a computer works and knowledge of concepts
> such as virtual storage, virtual machines, interrupts, etc
> 7) Enjoy learning new technology
> 8) Realize the importance of data integrity, system availability, and always
> having a backout
> 9) Understand that they don't know everything and could be dangerous - so put
> your pride aside and know enough to ask for help or guidance
> 10) Not know what a TCB or SRB is, but can make a basic connection to
> something like a Linux thread and dispatcher(don't beat me up on this, I know
> it's not the same, but similar enough to have a foundation for understanding)
> 11) Have desire to learn the "guts" of the operating system and third party
> software
> 12) Have natural curiosity to finding out how things work and interact with
> each other
> 13) Have an appreciation of the big picture - changing this piece can affect
> other pieces since it is shared
>
> In my mind, entry level is just that - no previous experience is required,
> which is exactly how my career started. I don't beleive that the candidate
> needs to have any z/OS experience at all - that can all be learned from the
> knowledgable people the candidate would be working with. The candidate will
> only be as successful as those helping him/her learn. I was very fortunate
> to have Dan, Keith, Tony, and Kent share their knowledge with me and be
> patient enough to explain why things worked the way they did and how it all
> fit together. I realize most of us are very busy, but I can tell you first
> hand of how much knowledge can be gained just by looking over someone's
> shoulder then exploring the subject by ones' self.
>
> I currently have a new joiner on my team that came from batch management and
> he is really self motivated and learning enough to make him a great systems
> programmer in the near future. He asks the right questions, digs into things
> on his own, and is making the connections of how things work in the z/OS
> environment and on z/Series hardware at a steady pace.
>
> Regards,
> Steve
>
> Stephen Bielskie
> VP Mainframe OS and Hardware
> Credit Suisse Securities, USA
> Princeton, NJ
>
...
--
Joel C. Ewing, Bentonville, AR jcew...@acm.org
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