RE: Death of the AS/400 (was Death of the RPG Programmer, List Activity)

This is interesting because our management says they are trying to hire RPG
programmers and can't find any.  In fact, there are several projects that
they are considering doing on another platform because they are scared they
won't be able to find RPG skills although we have told them that we can take
someone with programming experience and teach them RPG.  Your message makes
me wonder whether we really can't find any RPG talent or if they aren't
looking very hard in order to use it as an excuse to move away from the
AS/400 or maybe nobody wants to live in Montana.  Just wondering.....

Scott Mildenberger

> -----Original Message-----
> From: DAsmussen@aol.com [SMTP:DAsmussen@aol.com]
> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2000 2:45 AM
> To:   midrange-l@midrange.com; consult400@midrange.com
> Subject:      Death of the AS/400 (was Death of the RPG Programmer, List
> Activity)
> 
> Folks,
> 
> I'm not even going to quote a pertinent piece here, as so many were right
> and 
> so many more were wrong on this subject.  AS/400 consulting and perm work
> is 
> in the toilet right now, period.  Don't espouse JAVA to me, I've _GOT_
> JAVA 
> experience but cannot find work there.  ILE?  Yeah, right.  RPG?  
> Fuhgedaboutit.  There _IS_ little to no work to be had for AS/400 
> professionals right now -- contract _OR_ perm.  I am forced to swallow my 
> earlier words about consultants not saving enough money to get through the
> 
> annual "January slowdown", because said slowdown has now lasted until
> June.  
> I saved enough for this, but I certainly don't expect everyone else to do
> so. 
>  There are folks out there, just like you and me, that are working the
> census 
> right now in order to feed their families.  So much for the much
> ballyhooed 
> "high tech career".
> 
> I (and most other industry analysts) figured that, with the dissolution of
> 
> Y2K, that companies would be screaming for help to do the stuff that
> they'd 
> put off for the past 2-5 years.  Perhaps the e-business trend would even 
> further accelerate the latter -- WRONG.  Companies are still griping about
> an 
> IT worker shortage, but it seems that they're only interested in _LOW
> PAID_ 
> IT workers when it actually comes down to having to hire someone.  H1-B
> folks 
> around here earn around $55K per year -- good money, but it won't get you
> a 
> trailer within an hour's drive of the Research Triangle for housing.
> Forget 
> owning a reasonably new car to navigate our complete lack of public 
> transportation.
> 
> Sorry, but contracts _AND_ permanent employment on the AS/400 seem to be 
> pretty much dead.  If it makes you feel any better, it appears that the
> other 
> midrange platforms are suffering equal problems...
> 
> JMHO,
> 
> Dean Asmussen
> Enterprise Systems Consulting, Inc.
> Fuquay-Varina, NC  USA
> E-mail:  DAsmussen@aol.com
> 
> "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." -- John Wooden
> 
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