Interesting segue this thread has taken...
I recently attended an IBM meeting which addressed why young people are
eschewing an IBM z/OS mainframe career in favor of other platforms, including
other IBM platforms. This seems to be a very serious concern at IBM and
possibly the greatest threat to the future of z/OS.
The speaker was a woman from IBM who had been tasked by IBM management to study
this. She presented selected conclusions from her assignment. Some results were
what one would expect, many results were unexpected or at least not typically
considered in the context of z/OS's continued viability.
One of the top reasons graduating students from the best universities will not
accept a position working on z/OS is how they feel they are (or will be)
treated by z/OS "old-timers," particularly systems programmers.
This conclusion is supported by other data indicating that students who
co-op'ed or interned in z/OS positions are far more likely to reject z/OS as a
career as opposed to those graduates who have no experience with the z/OS
environment (technically and socially).
The prevailing conjecture for this phenomena is the relatively advanced age of
z/OS people. There seems to be a phase in one's life and career where there is
a natural desire to mentor young people. It is a time when young people are not
your competition (you have accepted that you are no longer one of them) and you
are aware of the knowledge and insights your work experiences have imbued you
with and wish to express and share them with someone who can both appreciate
and benefit from them. This phase eventually passes...obviously.
The average age of z/OS people is far beyond the average age of other
platforms' people. It is understandable that a bright graduating student,
bursting with ideas and proud of his education, would do anything to avoid
working with a group they perceive as dismissive, condescending and
disrespectful curmudgeons. Memories of being chased off lawns by grumpy old men
are still fresh in their minds.
On occasion, I lecture at top universities and my small experience interacting
with students bears this out. Students are in awe of IBM's technology (and they
should be), but they don't want to work at any job where regaling tales of
"glory days" of the past eclipses discussing bright new ideas from fresh minds.
Students graduating now don't consider IBM mainframe technology as old and
dying. They're too young to even remember the prognostications of the
mainframe's demise.
They fear the ancient guardians of the technology will simply stifle what they
could do with it.
Harry
> Date: Mon, 6 Jan 2014 10:39:20 -0600
> From: john.archie.mck...@gmail.com
> Subject: Re: Is the oner of IBM-Main still with us?
> To: IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU
>
> On Mon, Jan 6, 2014 at 10:29 AM, Aled Hughes <aledlhug...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> > Sorry Ed, but you need to lighten up or think about what/how you write.
> > The SysProgs of yore have long dropped their 'angry young men' stance.
> > This Forum is thankfully a witness to that.
> >
>
> The "Angry young men" have been replaced by the "PIssed off old farts"
> <grin/>. Jeff Dunham's "Walter" character is our leader. <GRIN>
>
>
> >
> > ALH
> >
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> This is clearly another case of too many mad scientists, and not enough
> hunchbacks.
>
> Maranatha! <><
> John McKown
>
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