Says here "COBOL is a dead language that hasn't been taught in most universities for decades, and the rare COBOL coders command anywhere from $55 to $85 an hour".
I'm reminded that five or ten years ago one of my sons heard my standard rant #37 about mainframes, and thought maybe he should learn to work with them (thinking it might lead to job security, in which I imagine he was not entirely wrong). For a few weeks I called around trying to find out what it would cost me to rent space for two accounts on an IBM mainframe somewhere. My questions must have been repeated here and there, for eventually an IBM guy called me and said if I could get the local university to teach a few courses on mainframes, they'd have to rent space on a mainframe for the students and IBM would ~give~ me two accounts so I could teach my son. I did call one of the local universities, one I'd worked at for two years, but couldn't drum up any interest. The IBM guy also said that companies were getting so desperate for mainframe trainees that they were sponsoring college courses their own selves, just so they'd have someone they could hire later. COBOL is by no means a "dead language", in any practical sense, but apparently the writer got it right that it isn't being taught in schools. Dunno about 55 to 85 $/hr, though, unless things have gotten a lot worse since I got into the security side. --- Bob Bridges, [email protected], cell 336 382-7313 /* D'you call life a bad job? Never! We've had our ups and downs, we've had our struggles, we've always been poor, but it's been worth it, ay, worth it a hundred times I say when I look 'round at my children. -from _Of Human Bondage_ by W Somerset Maugham */ -----Original Message----- From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Phil Smith III Sent: Sunday, April 5, 2020 10:23 https://www.tomshardware.com/news/new-jersey-cobol-coders-mainframes-coronav irus ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
