<quote> Who cares whether the universities are requiring COBOL or not? There are plenty of places and ways to learn it, and any Programmer worth employing should be able to pick it up relatively easy. They may not be as good as a seasoned programmer, but you can't expect a college graduate to perform at the same level as someone with work experience, no matter the language.
Universities are for teaching conceptual processes, how to learn and grasp the fundamentals of how programming works, not how to use a specific language, that's what a trade school, or specific class is for. If a recent (or future) grad only finds jobs advertising for COBOL programmers, they need to learn it to compete, the same goes for other languages. If a company (or government) needs applications supported using a *relatively* less used language that they have trouble finding proper skills for, they increase the pay offered, and the people (and skills) will come. It might be painful, but it is not impossible by any stretch of the imagination. Frank Finley </quote> There was a point made earlier which hit the nail on the head for me. It's not the language or programming skills in that language which is retiring. It's the 20+ years experience working with that business application which is retiring .... This e-mail message, including any attachments transmitted with it, is CONFIDENTIAL and may contain legally privileged information. This message is intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom it is addressed. If you have received this message in error, please notify us immediately and delete it from your system. Please visit our website to read the full disclaimer: http://www.euroclear.com/site/public/disclaimer
