I am an analyst programmer with 30 years' experience of
Cobol and a variety of 4GL and report writer tools on a range of
platforms. After being made redundant from local government in 1997
I looked at a career change but without success. I eventually found
a fixed-term post at a university but this is to end shortly. I am
looking for work but most jobs require skills I do not have. I
would like to find an employer that could use my existing abilities
while providing me with a chance to develop new skills. Where do I
find them?The solutionLarge firms still need deep coding
skills
It may sometimes seem that you are searching for the holy grail,
but don't give up: there are enlightened employers out there. Get a
couple of good agencies to help you in your search.
Your best selling point is your wealth of real development
experience. Programming languages have moved on since Cobol but a
lot of software houses and large firms still need people who can
understand the underlying code. Many new entrants into IT have only
ever used 4GLs and would be uncomfortable drilling down into the
code to fix a problem.
You need to look at the larger organisations that traditionally use
mainframes, such as banks and insurance companies. They have moved
on to developing front-ends using 4GLs but many of their systems
are still based on Cobol. Another avenue might be to look at
contract work with schools or local authorities. Many local
authorities have a "people bank" and will farm you out to whatever
project is in need. That could provide you with some new skills
while using your existing ones.
In the meantime, read all the computer press to gain a sound
understanding of new ITtrends.
Solution by Tracey Abbott, divisional director, Zarak
GroupThe panel: MSB International, Best International,
BCS, Computer Futures, Computer People, Elan, Reed Computing, Zarak
Technology, E-Skills UK
E-mail your career questions to computerweekly@rbi.co.uk