Advanced IT companies need experts on dead languages
The financial services industry in Scotland is in grave danger in the area of information technology. No, these are not massive DOS attacks by hostile forces. No, and not even ruthless hackers, encroaching on the most valuable customer data. The industry is facing a shortage of critical resources: programmers who know COBOL, assembler, and other old programming languages. Universities produce very capable students who are well-versed in fashionable languages like Java and .NET, but many companies are beginning to realize that for some of the outdated technologies there will not be a new generation of specialists.
In our turbulent days of mobile platforms and cloud computing, it’s strange to hear that the code written in 1959, when computers took over buildings, is vital for the financial sector. For the uninitiated, this may sound like a Klingon dialect, but 80% of the mainframe country works with COBOL, and their business systems require continuous support and development. The bank’s website, which is addressed to the client, can be written in Java, but all transaction processing, be it manipulation of your current account or insurance, takes place on mainframes. Yes, yes, in the age of satellites and digital home cinema, we still need engineers who can fix a black and white tube TV.
The ideal option would be to transfer the system entirely to new platforms, but this can be too expensive and is associated with huge business risks. Therefore, now, ten years after the surge in demand for programmers on COBOL caused by the 2000 problem, these outdated skills may again be in demand; only it will be harder to find them. There are several reasons for this.
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For a start, universities no longer teach these languages. Due to changes in the number of employees and cost constraints, many companies have stopped IT recruitment programs. Programmers of the past generation who know COBOL either are nearing retirement age, have either gone to the top steps of the management ladder, or are satisfied with the work they have. The existing personnel reserve is aging, becoming more experienced and at the same time becoming more expensive. If no action is taken, financial companies will soon entice specialists from this endangered category from each other and inflate salaries and contract costs in the fight for talent. In this situation, many graduates would not disdain to study the old language, especially given the fact that about a dozen alumni apply for each Java programmer position in Scotland. But universities do not plan to return “dead” languages to the program.
Universities and major employers would have to unite so that a new generation of programmers could not only adapt to new tasks, but also cope with the legacy of days gone by. Currently, 220 billion lines of COBOL code is used in the world, and this number continues to grow - it seems that this gives programmers a guarantee of employment, and their employers - stability. If the study of COBOL develops in Scotland, we can become the center of old computer technology, attract profitable projects and turn threats into potential for growth and development.
The author of the article is Karen Scott, executive director of Hudson IT Scotland.
In our turbulent days of mobile platforms and cloud computing, it’s strange to hear that the code written in 1959, when computers took over buildings, is vital for the financial sector. For the uninitiated, this may sound like a Klingon dialect, but 80% of the mainframe country works with COBOL, and their business systems require continuous support and development. The bank’s website, which is addressed to the client, can be written in Java, but all transaction processing, be it manipulation of your current account or insurance, takes place on mainframes. Yes, yes, in the age of satellites and digital home cinema, we still need engineers who can fix a black and white tube TV.
The ideal option would be to transfer the system entirely to new platforms, but this can be too expensive and is associated with huge business risks. Therefore, now, ten years after the surge in demand for programmers on COBOL caused by the 2000 problem, these outdated skills may again be in demand; only it will be harder to find them. There are several reasons for this.
')
For a start, universities no longer teach these languages. Due to changes in the number of employees and cost constraints, many companies have stopped IT recruitment programs. Programmers of the past generation who know COBOL either are nearing retirement age, have either gone to the top steps of the management ladder, or are satisfied with the work they have. The existing personnel reserve is aging, becoming more experienced and at the same time becoming more expensive. If no action is taken, financial companies will soon entice specialists from this endangered category from each other and inflate salaries and contract costs in the fight for talent. In this situation, many graduates would not disdain to study the old language, especially given the fact that about a dozen alumni apply for each Java programmer position in Scotland. But universities do not plan to return “dead” languages to the program.
Universities and major employers would have to unite so that a new generation of programmers could not only adapt to new tasks, but also cope with the legacy of days gone by. Currently, 220 billion lines of COBOL code is used in the world, and this number continues to grow - it seems that this gives programmers a guarantee of employment, and their employers - stability. If the study of COBOL develops in Scotland, we can become the center of old computer technology, attract profitable projects and turn threats into potential for growth and development.
The author of the article is Karen Scott, executive director of Hudson IT Scotland.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/126560/
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