Re: COBOL to Java conversion

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:55:20 -0600, Howard Brazee <howard@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Tue, 30 Oct 2007 12:37:53 -0600, Robert <no@xxxxxx> wrote:

So if you're investing into your career, I would not be focussing on COBOL.

Agreed. Go for Java. In a few years it'll be something else.

Which means - don't market yourself (to yourself or your boss) as a
Java programmer. Define your skills more broadly towards your
contributions to your business.

Job ads don't ask for business contributions, they ask for a bucket of technical skills.
Here's a typical, randomly selected ad:

We are seeking someone with the following skills:

Required-
5+ Years Micro Focus COBOL & Pro-Cobol
3+ Years UNIX & shell script
Oracle 9i or above with background in the following features: SQL,
Pro-SQL, Tables, Views, etc.

Knowledge or Experience
Mainframe JCL
Micro Focus Workbench
Pro-C
Software Design Lifecycle ? ESDm a plus

.