Contact the companies looking for COBOL coders. They're desperate, and will tell you exactly what you need to learn and probably pay for any training you need.

Contact the companies looking for COBOL coders. They're desperate, and will tell you exactly what you need to learn and probably pay for any training you need. Sure they'd prefer someone with a decade or five of experience, but seriously: COBOL coders are literally dying off at this point. 17 years ago was the last great hurrah for hiring & training COBOL developers, averting the "Y2K crisis" before calendars ticked over to the year 2000; we've got kids born after that who are entering the software workforce now. About 5 years ago I had someone speak in my C++ class begging students to consider a career in "mainframe" technologies; there was virtually no interest shown, and methinks most of the students didn't even know what he was talking about. But...the need remains. Those systems are so large & profitable they're not going anywhere, and employers must be quite willing to take on new coders willing to learn, directing & funding their education as needed. If you're interested, contact a hiring company directly and ask - even if you have 0 of 10 years required experience.