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searching for a cobol job
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| go-alex 2007-01-06, 9:55 pm |
| Hello,
i'm 37 years old and come from germany. At the moment i'm jobless. I
worked 9 years in the cobol environment ( Microfocus, ACU ) as a
programmer. I programmed for ERP's and a security trading system. My
further profile: Oracle, Java, Jsp, Javascript, HTML, PHP5, mySql,
Linux, UNIX.
My problem is, that if i search a cobol job, the most job's need IBM
experience. In Java i have only 1 year job-experience and in PHP only a
half year job-experience.
The question is, where (on the map) is a cobol job for me where IBM
experience is not so important ? I want to be no longer jobless and i'm
hot to code cobol again perhaps in combination with java or php,html.
Who has a tip for a young and talented "cobolbabyprogrammer" with only
37 years in age ?
email: info@go-alex.com
I'm thankful for your tip :)
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| Alistair 2007-01-07, 6:55 pm |
| The answer to your question probably relies upon which country you are
resident in. If the UK, I suggest you go to www.jobserve.co.uk and do a
search under the IT section for jobs with microfocus as a keyword.
There are quite a number coming up at the moment. Jobserve also carries
vacancies in Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Paris and GERMANY.
go-alex wrote:
> Hello,
>
> i'm 37 years old and come from germany. At the moment i'm jobless. I
> worked 9 years in the cobol environment ( Microfocus, ACU ) as a
> programmer. I programmed for ERP's and a security trading system. My
> further profile: Oracle, Java, Jsp, Javascript, HTML, PHP5, mySql,
> Linux, UNIX.
> My problem is, that if i search a cobol job, the most job's need IBM
> experience. In Java i have only 1 year job-experience and in PHP only a
> half year job-experience.
> The question is, where (on the map) is a cobol job for me where IBM
> experience is not so important ? I want to be no longer jobless and i'm
> hot to code cobol again perhaps in combination with java or php,html.
>
> Who has a tip for a young and talented "cobolbabyprogrammer" with only
> 37 years in age ?
>
> email: info@go-alex.com
>
> I'm thankful for your tip :)
| |
| go-alex 2007-01-09, 7:55 am |
| thank you very much for your answer Alistair, the jobs mentioned there
sounds very interesting to me.
I live in germany and I don't know, if I would or should make such a
"giant step" in an environment which I wasn't before in my life.
Working (only simply coding) is the one thing, but if someone did such
a step in his life, he has to decide so many other things.
Did someone know something about the recruiting process in the UK or
Ireland ?
Did someone know's about someone from germany or another country who
did such a step in the programming area ?
Alex
Alistair schrieb:
[color=darkred]
> The answer to your question probably relies upon which country you are
> resident in. If the UK, I suggest you go to www.jobserve.co.uk and do a
> search under the IT section for jobs with microfocus as a keyword.
> There are quite a number coming up at the moment. Jobserve also carries
> vacancies in Holland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Paris and GERMANY.
>
>
> go-alex wrote:
| |
| Alistair 2007-01-10, 6:55 pm |
|
go-alex wrote:
> thank you very much for your answer Alistair, the jobs mentioned there
> sounds very interesting to me.
> I live in germany and I don't know, if I would or should make such a
> "giant step" in an environment which I wasn't before in my life.
> Working (only simply coding) is the one thing, but if someone did such
> a step in his life, he has to decide so many other things.
>
> Did someone know something about the recruiting process in the UK or
> Ireland ?
> Did someone know's about someone from germany or another country who
> did such a step in the programming area ?
>
In the UK you either
approach the company direct (there are business directories that can
provide the necessary information to identify suitable targets) or
look on their web sites under vacancies or career or
sign up with the job agencies. Look on www.jobserve.co.uk and browse
their agencies section. Be aware that agencies will promise to do
everything to find you a job, ask you to search exclusively through
them, ask for references (do not give them because they will end up
pestering your referees for placements) and will forget about you
within three w s. So, browse jobserve and other web sites, send
speculative cvs to each identified agency and try not to tell agency A
about where you were interviewed last w (because they'll try to
poach the vacancy from agency B). Finally, never go for an interview
with an agency because it will not be for any specified position and
will not be relevant to the position for which you applied. Warning:
agencies talk the biz but know f*** all about the ins-and-outs of the
job or IT.Remember, they are failed used car salesmen!
</bitterness>
| |
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| go-alex wrote:
> thank you very much for your answer Alistair, the jobs mentioned there
> sounds very interesting to me.
> I live in germany and I don't know, if I would or should make such a
> "giant step" in an environment which I wasn't before in my life.
> Working (only simply coding) is the one thing, but if someone did such
> a step in his life, he has to decide so many other things.
>
> Did someone know something about the recruiting process in the UK or
> Ireland ?
> Did someone know's about someone from germany or another country who
> did such a step in the programming area ?
>
If you look at this from a bit longer perspective - Germany also offers
you long term unemployment because you are too young and at the same
time too old as well you spent too long years on education which is
already too old to be useful. As a bonus your gov promises that your
pension contributions will be wasted exactly the same way as monies that
you pay to your health insurance. Look at that and realize that job and
money are also elsewhere and you do not have to be a permie in Germany
to get it. I used Jobserve quiet successfully for years now and the only
bad thing about it is that nowadays apparently there are some bad people
there that ask for your account details before promising to send your
CV around.
I had work experience as a permie and consultant in Holland, Italy,
Poland, Sweden, UK and now Germany and I do strongly advise you to go
for it. All is better to be jobless (or permie in Germany). If you have
bounds (house and family) then you still can work out some strategy that
can suit you - start as consultant in UK may be an option and flying
back and forth till you settle down is possible too even if not that
nice. People did and do it today.
Good luck in your quest.
//
> Alex
>
>
> Alistair schrieb:
>
>
| |
|
| take a look at http://www.abercrombie.com
they seem to be looking for someone with pretty much your skills.
-jim
go-alex wrote:
> Hello,
>
> i'm 37 years old and come from germany. At the moment i'm jobless. I
> worked 9 years in the cobol environment ( Microfocus, ACU ) as a
> programmer. I programmed for ERP's and a security trading system. My
> further profile: Oracle, Java, Jsp, Javascript, HTML, PHP5, mySql,
> Linux, UNIX.
> My problem is, that if i search a cobol job, the most job's need IBM
> experience. In Java i have only 1 year job-experience and in PHP only a
> half year job-experience.
> The question is, where (on the map) is a cobol job for me where IBM
> experience is not so important ? I want to be no longer jobless and i'm
> hot to code cobol again perhaps in combination with java or php,html.
>
> Who has a tip for a young and talented "cobolbabyprogrammer" with only
> 37 years in age ?
>
> email: info@go-alex.com
>
> I'm thankful for your tip :)
| |
| Frederico Fonseca 2007-01-23, 6:55 pm |
| On 6 Jan 2007 19:38:36 -0800, "go-alex" <info@go-alex.com> wrote:
>Hello,
>
>i'm 37 years old and come from germany. At the moment i'm jobless. I
>worked 9 years in the cobol environment ( Microfocus, ACU ) as a
>programmer. I programmed for ERP's and a security trading system. My
>further profile: Oracle, Java, Jsp, Javascript, HTML, PHP5, mySql,
>Linux, UNIX.
>My problem is, that if i search a cobol job, the most job's need IBM
>experience. In Java i have only 1 year job-experience and in PHP only a
>half year job-experience.
>The question is, where (on the map) is a cobol job for me where IBM
>experience is not so important ? I want to be no longer jobless and i'm
>hot to code cobol again perhaps in combination with java or php,html.
>
>Who has a tip for a young and talented "cobolbabyprogrammer" with only
>37 years in age ?
>
>email: info@go-alex.com
>
>I'm thankful for your tip :)
Do not let the fact they ask for IBM experience to be a factor for you
not to reply to a job.
If working on a any other environment than the ones you have so far
(Unix/Windows from what you say) it is possible that the
client/company will accept you only based on your COBOL and remaining
experience.
More important is if you have SQL experience (which you seem to have),
coupled with COBOL. e.g. Embbeded SQL.
In the shop I am at the moment, three of the contractors never had any
mainframe exposure, including me, and we were hired, as the remaining
of the experience would be enough for the job, and the mainframe bits
could be learned quickly. AS400 is even easier just for info.
Frederico Fonseca
ema il: frederico_fonseca at syssoft-int.com
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