AS/400 Career Directions (was: Re: CODE/400)

Dave,

In a message dated 98-03-09 23:28:03 EST, you write:

> Bravo, Dean - I feel that conflict is a good thing.  It does seem to me to 
> be a problem that IBM just doesn't get it once again.  Great repost, I must 
> say.

Perhaps, but I'm afraid that both Chris and I "crossed the line" of
enlightened discussion on this one...

>  A few miscellaneous musings in rehash of a couple of points you made...
>  
>  1.  As a recruiter, I spend appx 60% of my time recruiting and trying to 
> fill AS/400 related positions.  The remainder is spent in networking and 
> other development languages such as mainframe COBOL, VB, C++, embedded 
> processing, etc.  I can say without hesitation that of the bunch, AS/400 RPG
> programmers represent the best bargain for the dollar (salary vs. experience
> vs. actual knowledge).  The only possible exception right now is upper level
> Novell people but only because the Novell market share is shrinking very 
> rapidly.  People with Novell/NT dual certifications, however, are very 
> desirable candidates.

Quite true.  Most AS/400 shops are small, and their development staff members
usually are better Business Process Analysts than those that initially are
hired with that title.  The /400 people not only know the business, they know
the systems that run it -- they have to be "all things to all people".  A
point management often overlooks at raise time...

>  2.  It seems to be a direct correlation between salary level and
educational 
> background with experience the obvious common denominator.  I have some 
> companies that will not hire employees in their MIS dept. unless they have a
> 4 yr degree - which of course, cannot be obtained directly for AS/400 
> backgrounds.  I don't see many other disciplines where a sharp 10-year 
> veteran can be hired for $55K; yes, there are a few left at that level who 
> still prefer a perm position vs. contracting vs. consulting!

There's something to be said for a perm job, although you have to be
"downsized" a couple of times in order to pronounce it correctly ;-).
Seriously though, consulting or contracting is _NOT_ for everyone.  It
requires an adaptability and self-discipline that not everyone posesses.

>  3.  In trying to fill an RPG/ILE position I have currently open in
Knoxville,
>  I have spoken to appx 150 AS/400 shops in the last few working days in 
> Eastern Tennessee.  I make it a point to ask about their shops and what's 
> going on from a market standpoint....not ONE of those have any
implementation 
> plans or desire to go to CODE/400.  Factors: cost, availability of personnel
> to support the effort, and comments like "Hell, IBM acts like they're trying
> to get rid of the 400 anyway. I don't think I oughta sink any more 
> development money into it."  If I had to make a logical guesstimate, appx
50-
> 60% of the shops I talked to still use RPG3...with the rest spread fairly 
> evenly among the other RPG variants and COBOL.  About 20% use specific 
> packages such as PRMS, BPCS, MAPICS, etc, and another 20% do not have a 
> programming staff (uses outside help).

Sounds like my experience, although I think that Chris and I agree that those
RPG shops should at least _TRY_ CODE/400.  Why should switching from one
proprietary language to another similar one be a problem (unless the staff's
still on green screens, which happens _A_ _LOT_) for these shops?

>  4.  They think RPG programmers are expensive?  When JAVA starts to hit big
(
> and the steam seems to be building steadily), cross development skills will 
> be in HUGE demand.  One of the factors that have kept RPG people so cheap is
> that RPG does not have a large market at all on any other system. Case in 
> point:  COBOL/400 programmers earn on average (in the "Brown" unscientific 
> guage) about 10-20% more than RPG programmers on a perm basis.  Upward
salary 
> pressure for RPG programmers has been because of scarcity...when was the
last 
> time you saw a truly sharp kid coming out of a junior college who was a) 
> interested in programming in RPG on an AS/400 and b) not enamoured with the
"
> sexy" stuff like C++, JAVA, etc.?  The position I've been searching for in 
> Knoxville will go in the mid to upper  $40K's for 3 yrs exp...and it doen't 
> seem like  the money is going to be enough.

I cannot agree more.  That's why I say "think outside the box".

>  5.  If IBM wants to get serious about CODE/400, give it away.  Now
obviously,
>  IBM is not Micro$oft on the development language scale..and maybe this is 
> comparing apples to rutabagas...but look what happened when Bill Gates 
> decided to give away MS Explorer as a web browser.  Netscape almost went out
> of business.  Has MS lost money on the direct development and support of IE?
> Certainly.  Has their OTHER business benefitted? Certainly.  Could IBM do
the 
> same thing with their suite of AS/400 tools? Maybe...If I were running the 
> helm, at the least, I'd make sure my marketing reps put a licensed copy in 
> the hands of the instructors at the colleges.  Give some licenses away to 
> some of the customers who buy several AS/400's each year.  Nothing drives
the 
> market quite like watching a leader be successful...reference Microsoft once
> again.

I think that everyone knows _my_ stance on IBM's supply of technology, both
hardware and software, to educational institutions.  IBM'ers on the list have
shown that IBM is trying to rectify this gross omission, but I think that a
large problem still exists at most local IBM offices as far as knowing what's
available and having a focus on seeing it gets delivered.
 
>  6.  Maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture...but the application versus 
> server is actually a dig deal.  They'd better address the application side a
> bit ore proactively.  I make the mental analogy of IBM and the PC market
back 
> a few years ago.  Seems to me that IBM made most of their PC money when they
> were introducing new models, and the IBM current model at any given time was
> the "target" because they dictated the market conditions.  When they let 
> Compaq and some of the others take the lead, IBM almost had to get out of
the 
> PC market entirely.  New technology and development drives profits because 
> you can capture valuable market share and make your money before the other 
> company does...then let the rest fight over the scraps after you've eaten.  
> While the 400 may be a great server, someone will always come along and
think 
> up a better product.  Heck, IBM did it to themselves to a degree...I wish I 
> had a nickel for every company I've talked to that had an AS/400 and moved
to 
> an RS6000.

Hey, UNIX is "open" ;-)...but people don't buy it for _THAT_ ;-)...

>  Enough rantings for now....Dean, if my observations and arguments seem 
> reasonalby lucid, share/repost/whatever if you think it's appropriate for
the 
> midrange forum.

Done...

>  Dave Brown, MIS/IT recruiter
>  Snelling Search, Huntsville, AL
>  haveajob@aol.com

Good Input!

Dean Asmussen
Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
E-Mail:  DAsmussen@aol.com

"After thirty, a body has a mind of its own." -- Bette Midler
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