[Info-vax] Possible VMS jobs

[Bill Gunshannon]

On 12/23/18 9:42 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
> On 12/19/2018 3:04 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>> On 12/19/18 1:49 PM, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>> On 12/19/2018 1:25 PM, Bill Gunshannon wrote:
>>>> And, if you were following the discussion here VMS jobs do
>>>> not show up on those sites as neither do COBOL or Fortran.
>>>
>>> Not so.
>>>
>>> Roland frequently post VMS jobs from there.
>>>
>>> And my search revealed COBOL and Fortran jobs.
>>
>> Sigh, if they are even real, they are most likely IBM mainframe
>> requiring decades of specific IBM experience, JCL, CICS, DB2, etc.
>> Not VMS.
> 
> Most of COBOL is mainframe.

Probably, but the quantity of non-mainframe COBOL is significant
as well.  MicroFocus is not having any trouble staying in business.
And, that last gig I did was MF COBOL on AIX and Oracle.

> 
> Fortran is most likely Linux.

Actually, I expect the majority of Fortran today is
embedded.  :-)

> 
>>> But:
>>>
>>> https://www.dice.com/jobs?q=openvms+and+cobol&l=
>>
>> 1. They are a contractor looking for a body.  Guess who gets
>> most of the money from that job?
>>
>> 2. Converting SQL (whatever that is) to Oracle.  Where is the VMS
>>     connection?  "The candidate will be trained on OpenVMS or Linux
>>     platform if they don't have prior experience."  But nothing
>>     about this job speaks of VMS at all.
> 
> :-(
> 
>>> These companies have a specific full time
>>> permanent positions they need to fill long term.
>>
>> That's not what the ad says.  It plainly states "long term CONTRACT".
>> the idea that they have hired these kinds of people in the past
>> does not mean they would now.  What's more, based on what information
>> they provide this could well be a conversion away from VMS to Linux.
>> In which case if you are looking for VMS work it is likely very short
>> term.
> 
> My comment was more general - not for this specific ad.
> 
> Yes - there are also contracts.
> 
> But somehow I don't think you would fit the typical
> contractor anno 2018 profile either.

Fair enough.  And the people who fit the 2018 contractor
profile can't do COBOL so I guess we're even.  :-)

> 
>>> I suspect that you are more looking for companies
>>> that have something they want done. It will take
>>> X months. The system is important so they can get the
>>> funding if they ask, but they have not asked yet
>>> because how to find an expert in a niche area
>>> for a short term engagement. So the opening
>>> will first show up when they know about you.
>>
>> That's a likelihood.  When I first showed up at the last
>> COBOL gig I had (2012) I walked into a stack of SCR's
>> (Software Change Requests).  Because they had not had
>> a COBOL programmer for a while there were a number of
>> them.  Knowing that they have not been able to hire a
>> qualified COBOL replacement since I left, that pile is
>> probably rather large by this point.  :-)  I am sure
>> there are other places in the same boat.  Finding
>> them is the problem.  ANd then once you find them
>> you have to sell them on hiring you.  But finding them
>> is the first and hardest part of the quest.
> 
> Hopefully your inbox are receiving some pointers.


Not even a whisper.

bill