Re: ADVERTISING SUPPORT FOR AS/400 ANNOU

Bob Clarke 3rd x4502 wrote:
> 
>  ----------
>  On 8/12/97, Don wrote:
> 
> > Ya know, I wish they'ld take some of that $100M and put it into training
> > college kids on the 400 platform.  We're not seeing ANYTHING coming out of
> > colleges with a midrange knowledgebase...and it kinda really sucks!
> 
> You may be interested to know that it looks like IBM is moving in that
> direction by donating AS/400s and software to colleges sponsored by
> resellers or customers.  They are also tailoring their current training
> courses to target college students.  For more on this see the article in the
> 7/28 issue of COMPUTERWORLD beginning on page 37.

Could you give us a couple of quotable quotes? I stopped my subscription
to ComputerWorld 20 years ago after reading 5 years of articles about
the "death" of RPG. ;-)  (vs the "life" of COBOL...BTW even it still
lives and breathes)

Where I'm at they do have a tech school teaching RPG...for the 4300! 
And every couple of years I hire the lead student.  Each time it's the
same tale...They are gong ho (gung ho?) at first, at the end of three
months I have to take away their shoe laces before they hang themselves
for having paid money and feeling so stupid!

And we go through a three month cycle of confidence and feeling
worthless for the first year.

For any of us that have spent some time doing what we really love to do,
there is no greater joy than sharing with the next person coming up the
same path.  I finally resorted to sponsoring an internship where a
student could learn the "real world" while still in school.  It's really
nice that IBM gives a 30% or whatever educational discount and (I'm
guessing by historical gut feel) probably "gives" more than the average
Fortune 50 company, but the real world is not Fortune 50...it's the
50-200M/yr manufacturing/distribution company.

(kick that soap box and stop me now!) Whereever you are working, take a
little time and try to make a case for an internship program.  For the
doubting Thomas' out there that say "Ya, sure. I train them and they
leave me for a newer model!"  I can only say that if you stop hording
the juicy projects for yourself and act as the guide, you may not get
the glory but you get to spend more time with your family and you will
still feel good about yourself.  For the hard core capitalists out
there..work the suckers till they drop then trade THEM in for a newer
model! <BG>

James W. Kilgore
President
Progressive Data Systems, Inc.
(1977-1997 Our 20th year!)
QAPPDSN@ibm.net

(P.S. I love it when I'm having a hormonal storm!)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* This is the Midrange System Mailing List!  To submit a new message,   *
* send your mail to "MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com".  To unsubscribe from     *
* this list send email to MAJORDOMO@midrange.com and specify            *
* 'unsubscribe MIDRANGE-L' in the body of your message.  Questions      *
* should be directed to the list owner / operator: david@midrange.com   *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *