Mainframe Operators Needed

blueforce writes "Computer World is reporting that there's a shortage of skilled mainframe workers on the horizon. Quote: "Getting IT professionals, especially young ones, interested in learning mainframe work isn't easy." No kidding. While I've never worked on a mainframe, I have worked on AS/400's. 3 words - Mind Numb ing. Perhaps it's time for a more long-term solution to the problem. Interesting nonetheless. Who'da thunk it - a shortage in IT. What's next, COBOL?"

Comments

Quick and Easy Karma?

[NickisGod.com]

Real MCSE's know that real main frames run Windows2000 Server!

Unix is just DOS with funny application names (ga-new what?)

Simple obvious answer:

[burgburgburg]

Add some Windows code:

Things too reliable? Predictable? Functional? Secure? Just can't find anything to do?

Windowsize it!
Just ten lines of Windows code will have you scrambling for hours to try and figure out what in the heck has gone wrong!
Add twenty lines of Windows code and you've got a month worth of worries on your hands!
And for the truly daring: A mission-critical Windows application!
Kiss the wife and kids goodbye! You'll never eat/sleep/bathe in peace again!

Windowsize it!
(Not approved for those with heart conditions/risk of stroke/high blood pressure/pregnant)

Re:Simple obvious answer:

[Anonymous Coward]

Whats wrong? Did he hurt your feelings and your mum wouldn't answer to 'phone? Aww, widdums. Sure, its as easy to write a stable application for Windows as it is for any other system. Doesn't make much difference if the Operating System is a peice of shit though, does it?

You're just bitter because you've realised that your years spent learning VB and Windows Administration arn't going to make you a millionaire like the ads promised, arn't you?

Cobol programmers needed

[Brett Johnson]

Actually, a local sporting goods chain has been advertising for programmers that are "experts" in Cobol, SQL Server, VB, and IIS to move a legacy system from mainframe to Windows. I taped a 10 foot pole to another 10 foot pole, but still wouldn't touch it.

That's right! Windowsize it!

[burgburgburg]

Five 9s is old school. Five reboots a day, that's the cutting edge!

If the system never goes down, how can upper management ever appreciate your valiant efforts at 3:00 am to restore the essential programs underpinning your whole corporations future? Again?

Windowsize it! Because you haven't suffered enough!

Re:That's right! Windowsize it!

[xtremex]

Even though a DEC ALPHA running VMS isn't considered a main, we had one running at my job for 7 years. It was the payroll system. They never got rid of it because no one knew what to do with it, it ran for 7 years with nary a reboot, and it just worked. Then they go a spend $2 million on Siebel and it was slower than molasses. Because of that, they had to dump 500 employees. Siebel is gone, but that DEC Alpha is still churning away.

Re:Why would it be mind-numbing?

[Drakonian]

If it's for working and not for playing, what's with all the RPGs! ;)

Re:IEFBR14 rules!

[Skapare]

That program got my account cancelled! Well, OK, so I submitted 1000 jobs with 255 steps each specifying PGM=IEFBR14. But the real reason was because I used lower case Hollerith punch codes on the job names, and the console ops couldn't cancel the individual jobs because everything typed on the console was upper case.