Cobal mainfrain developers?

[phishb0y]

Where I work has an opprotunity to be trained as a mainframe developer. They pay for te training and upon successful completion hire you. It is a whole new field to me. I am proficient on computers, but nothing on this level. Looking for any wisdom or input

Thanks
Phishb0y

 

[jkfletcher]

I went to school to program and the main classes we HAD to take were COBOL developing. It is not too overly complicated, but that language has been dying off for years. For what it's worth, after many months searching for a job doing that, I ended up scrapping it and taking a job doing hardware support. That was 15 years ago though. I say if they're going to pay for the training and then hire you, I'd read the fine print and not expect that if COBOL is the only language you know, that you may not have many options if you want to leave.

 

[jerryv]

A job's a job .. Learn all you can learn. COBOL is still a great language for business applications .. reporting in particular. If it seems like an opportunity to you, go for it. The more you know, the more salable you are.

 

[Kagnew]

"Cobal mainfrain"?

 

[Magneto]

Completely Obsolete Boring Old Language.

 

[Scutter01]

Jeez, COBOL was on the way out when I learned it in college 20 years ago. I know it's still used in a lot of legacy financial systems though. Still, if they're paying for the training, do it!

 

[KLB]

Jeez, COBOL was on the way out when I learned it in college 20 years ago. I know it's still used in a lot of legacy financial systems though. Still, if they're paying for the training, do it!

This! Learning a programming language will teach you how to program. You can then learn a new language more easily in the future if/when COBOL is phased out.

 

[HDSilvrStreak]

I've worked in IT for over 20 years (ABAP SAP development mostly). I work for one of the leading global IT providers (300K+ employees). I haven't seen any real need for COBOL since the Y2K scare. Just isn't necessary anymore and I don't think it's valued in the industry.

If you want to get into IT, learn the ERP platforms (SAP, Siebel, Oracle, JD Edwards, etc). Even if you learn COBOL first, you'll end up having to learn something else to create value for yourself. Just start with value instead.

 

[Shadow8088]

go to Ivy Tech and take C+ C# Java... get certified, write your own paychecks... (Java is a biggie)

 

[Scutter01]

go to Ivy Tech and take C+ C# Java... get certified, write your own paychecks... (Java is a biggie)

I think you missed the part where his company has offered to train him for free in the specific application that they need and are willing to hire him for the job following the training.

Going to Ivy is still good advice, but a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.