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2.6 Training Newbie RPG Programmers
2.6.1 The Dollars and Sense of Training Newbie RPG Programmers
by Mary Lou Roberts
Look around at your fellow workers in IT. If you’re in a typical AS/400 shop (yes, I said
"AS/400" on purpose), you might notice one thing about your cohorts that constitutes a
significant difference from those whippersnapper Windows folks. No, I don’t mean that you’re
working on a stable, reliable platform and they aren’t; I’m hinting at the fact that you probably
have more gray hair then they do–and perhaps a little more paunch as well. You also are more
likely to spend weekends with the kids (or grandkids?), to remember the days when no one had
personal computers, to have personal recollections of Watergate, and to be giving at least some
preliminary thought to retirement.
No one knows for sure just how many platform stalwarts are over the age of 45, but there’s
one thing we’re certain of: it’s significant. In the next decade, we can expect to see a fair number
of them trade in their green screens for golf greens, and their treks to COMMON for cruises or
trips abroad.
This trend is already leaving some OS/400 shops with a bit of a problem. Those legacy RPG
apps aren’t going anywhere fast. (Why should they? They still run more reliably and get the job
done better than the stuff that runs in other operating environments.) Companies still need RPG
programmers to maintain and even to build new RPG applications. But the community colleges
just aren’t turning out the new blood that’s needed to continue to support the platform. In fact,
many colleges have pulled their programs for lack of enrollment. The new kids, it seems, simply
aren’t interested in learning RPG, and most of them have never heard of the System i. And if, by
some chance, they are aware of any of the numerous predecessor names for the platform, they
consider it "old technology."
The impact of the decline in well-trained people coming to the platform was complicated
when the 1990’s bubble burst with layoffs and hiring freezes. Some experienced OS/400 people
hit the streets, and many of them exercised one of several options: they retooled their skills and
got jobs working on other platforms; they changed careers entirely; or they simply dropped out
of the workforce, taking early retirement.
...more information
The Four Hundred 12.06.2006
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