I always wonder if I should just learn COBOL and try to just do a few juicy contracts a year and focus on my other pursuits (farming and considering making a game, as well as vacation of course) the rest of the year.
I wouldn’t recommend it. I actually looked up COBOL jobs a while ago, and while they paid more, it was only like 20% more - not enough to make it worth it IMO.
My friend’s mom gets called back for COBOL stints at major US banks all the time. I don’t know how long it’ll last, but apparently the list of people to select from and bring in is ridiculously short.
how can you realistically enter that list?
its not like they bring in just anyone that learns it i guess?
I’ll have to ask, she worked as a COBOL contractor for multiple banks historically so it might be one of those “who you know” type things. I’ll circle back and reply here if I hear anything.
Just knowing the language isn’t enough to make the obscene money. You have to also be very familiar with the systems that use the language, and that takes years.
Eevee’s heteroglot entry for COBOL is interesting, coming from … practically anything else.
There’s also someone doing AOC in ABAP (basically SAP COBOL) who posts over in the AOC subreddit. I’ve looked at them and … mhm, I know some of these words!
I’ve fallen down the rabbithole. I’m reading a free course (from 2001ish) on Cobol.
COBOL is Maintainable
I now question everything. I mean, technically, basically anything is maintainable in that it’s possible…
Just remember the Voyager spacecraft are still out there… and being maintained.
how to obtain this ‘last person that knows cobol’ title with whatever language goes extinct next?
you could just learn cobol. it’s not going anywhere, unfortunately
As someone who has worked with it, it’s not too bad. Lots of $$ if you know someone.
The biggest issue (that she goes into), is the lack of context. Why is the thing doing what it is doing is the hardest part
