7 Aug
2008
7 Aug
'08
6:40 p.m.
Eric Smith wrote:
Chuck Guzis wrote:
Just prior to y2k they were paying large bonuses to get C programmers to
learn COBOL so the 100s of millions of lines of code could be checked and
patched. Large companies were desperate. I'm sure a lot of these folks
were canned after 2000 when all the Y2K nonsense finally ended but I'm sure
they aren't all retired. And they should still be around if someone
offered them enough money. I haven't written any code since 2001, because
any contract would have required me to travel which I couldn't do any more.
But it was great while it lasted.
Mark (Who is retired but still too busy to get everything done.)
"COBOL programmers are hard to come by these
days," said Fred Forrer,
the Sacramento-based CEO of MGT of America, a public-sector consulting
firm. "It's certainly not a language that is taught. Oftentimes, you
have to rely on retired annuitants to come back and help maintain the
system until you're able to find a replacement."
It's not at all hard to find COBOL programmers, and they are NOT all
retired. Offer a decent salary, and you'll get them. What the state is
specifically trying to do, though is to cut everyone's salaries, so how
likely is it that they'll offer a good salary to a COBOL programmer.
The real story is that it's a bunch of political posturing.