I was fortunate enough to be in the right place at the right time to get into mainframe systems programming diretly out of college in 1998. At a local job fair, I spoke to a recruiter that told me if I like to get into the "guts" of the operating system and I am willing to learn mainframe then I have a position for you.
A few weeks later, I started in what my employer called ELSP training, or Entry Level Systems Progamming training, as you may have guessed. I spent 6-8 weeks in different areas and different shifts learning the ins and outs of the print room, tape library, mainframe and midrange ops, security, storage, and production control. The program itself spanned nearly 2 years and was well thought out and the people I worked with were extremely supportive and tolerant of my initial ignorance of the platform. All of the pieces fit together nicely in my mind by the time I completed the program. I've been a systems programmer for over 15 years now and my opinion of what is required for an entry level systems programmer is likely less stringent than many on this list would indicate. My candidate would (in no particular order): 1) Possess a willingness to learn something new, knowing you're not going to be very good at it in the beginning until you learn the basics 2) Enjoy/able to solve logic puzzles (my first employer gave a screening test that had you following pointers through a mad up virtual memory map - had 4 hours to complete it) 3) Demonstrate self-motivation 4) Willing to ask questions for thier own benefit and knowledge 5) Willing to particpate in trouble calls, off hour calls, and weekend work 6) Has basic understanding of how a computer works and knowledge of concepts such as virtual storage, virtual machines, interrupts, etc 7) Enjoy learning new technology 8) Realize the importance of data integrity, system availability, and always having a backout 9) Understand that they don't know everything and could be dangerous - so put your pride aside and know enough to ask for help or guidance 10) Not know what a TCB or SRB is, but can make a basic connection to something like a Linux thread and dispatcher(don't beat me up on this, I know it's not the same, but similar enough to have a foundation for understanding) 11) Have desire to learn the "guts" of the operating system and third party software 12) Have natural curiosity to finding out how things work and interact with each other 13) Have an appreciation of the big picture - changing this piece can affect other pieces since it is shared In my mind, entry level is just that - no previous experience is required, which is exactly how my career started. I don't beleive that the candidate needs to have any z/OS experience at all - that can all be learned from the knowledgable people the candidate would be working with. The candidate will only be as successful as those helping him/her learn. I was very fortunate to have Dan, Keith, Tony, and Kent share their knowledge with me and be patient enough to explain why things worked the way they did and how it all fit together. I realize most of us are very busy, but I can tell you first hand of how much knowledge can be gained just by looking over someone's shoulder then exploring the subject by ones' self. I currently have a new joiner on my team that came from batch management and he is really self motivated and learning enough to make him a great systems programmer in the near future. He asks the right questions, digs into things on his own, and is making the connections of how things work in the z/OS environment and on z/Series hardware at a steady pace. Regards, Steve Stephen Bielskie VP Mainframe OS and Hardware Credit Suisse Securities, USA Princeton, NJ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@listserv.ua.edu with the message: INFO IBM-MAIN
