ComputerWorld identifies the skills which are no longer job-tickets:
COBOL, non-relational DBMS's, SNA, "C", ColdFusion, PowerBuilder, Certified Netware Engineers, OS/2, and PC Network Engineers.
Well, kinda, mostly, sorta.
COBOL will be around forever, just like BAL and "C." But it's rare to find large-scale development projects utilizing them--just like Big Blue's SNA and OS/2 (which was DOA anyway.)
They ain't dead, but as the article says, no one is throwing money at you to have the skills. UW-Platteville's CS program is still pretty heavy into COBOL. A relative is graduating and already has a job with Great Lakes in Madison. It's all about if you have what they want, because they sure as heck aren't going to train you. I think the article was hitting more on consulting/temporary contracts.
ReplyDeleteYah.
ReplyDelete"...they aren't going to train you" is the key phrase.
Any business worth spit will invest in equipment, and usually the writeoff is 5-10 years.
Same investment in PEOPLE?? No way.