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A comment on Why Bloat Is Still Software's Biggest Vulnerability. Parent comment

Re:Why Bloat Is Still Software's Biggest Vulnerability by FirmwareBurner on Friday February 09, 2024 @08:23PM (#39322555)
>It's highly paid simply because there aren't that many expert COBOL programmers around anymore.

They're highly paid not because they're part of a short supply of COLOB devs, but because they have COBOL experience and the battle scars to know how to solve production issues that those new to Cobol might not know about, but which the old timers saw several times already in their careers and know how to fix

If you start learning Cobol now to cash in on the this market, as a Cobol junior you won't be remotely as valuable as those Cobol graybeards with battle scars, which is why nobody's pivoting to Cobol.

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Re:Why Bloat Is Still Software's Biggest Vulnerability by DiggyJohnson on Saturday February 10, 2024 @01:26AM (#39324080)
I don’t think this is as mutually exclusive as you imply.

Good COBOL programmers are expensive because they’re rare, and the only way to become a good COBOL programmer is to spend a decent fraction of your education and/or career working with it. That doesn’t happen organically anymore for any significant fraction or junior devs.

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Re:Why Bloat Is Still Software's Biggest Vulnerability by charlie0 on Saturday February 10, 2024 @11:07AM (#39327210)
So what you're saying is, unlike the web dev market, which is oversaturated, there exists an unsaturated market in COBOL? Hmmmm
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Re:Why Bloat Is Still Software's Biggest Vulnerability by smt88 on Saturday February 10, 2024 @02:41PM (#39329511)
Yes, exactly. If you can find a way to get good enough to do it, you're guaranteed a great income.
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Re:Why Bloat Is Still Software's Biggest Vulnerability by FirmwareBurner on Saturday February 10, 2024 @05:38PM (#39330870)
>Yes, exactly. If you can find a way to get good enough to do it, you're guaranteed a great income.

You can't replicate years or decades of Cobol project experience to "get good at it", out of thin air by doing some side projects at home. No amount of individual self study can prepare you for industry specific cruft and issues you've never encountered. If it were that accessible, a lot of people would do it.

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Re:Why Bloat Is Still Software's Biggest Vulnerability by JohnFen on Monday February 12, 2024 @11:11AM (#39346520)
> they have COBOL experience and the battle scars to know how to solve production issues that those new to Cobol might not know about, but which the old timers saw several times already in their careers and know how to fix

Right, this is what I meant by "expert COBOL programmers".

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