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> The problem is that Cobol isn’t popular with new programmers. Enough with the COBOL shortage myth. Don't be fooled, not being popular is not the problem. The
by guitarbill 8y ago
> The problem is that Cobol isn’t popular with new programmers.
Enough with the COBOL shortage myth. Don't be fooled, not being popular is not the problem. The problem is COBOL jobs aren't competitive, they often even pay worse than other tech jobs. That's why they are either being outsourced or offered to 60 year olds in their spare time. (So arguably they're not that mission-critical, either.)
But then who is writing articles with a false premise and why? Why would a news outlet (and I use that term loosely) even feature an article that ostensibly is to get more programmers to do COBOL cheaper? I don't even understand the agenda here - is there some kind of meta-game? The best I can think of is they're hedging their bets for when a bank fucks up, but even that seems pathetic. Maybe it's just COBOL turns out to be great clickbait for programmers.
- tumetab1 8y agoThe answer to why would news paper would run a bad story usually is just selling ADs. Usually you see more of this on non-mainstream topics or stories that don't get much traction because there will be no backlash.
- crdoconnor 8y agoUh, usually it's hastily reprinted press releases and journalists with a tight deadline. In this case it's almost too obvious whom the press release was sent out on behalf of ("Cobol Cowboys").
- waynecochran 8y agoI looked it up. "Cobol Cowboys" is a thing. http://cobolcowboys.com http://cobolcowboys.com "Not their first rodeo" -- hilarious.
- emodendroket 8y agoThat's a little too simple. The basic fact is they have consistent and helpful sources who put a nice little bow on an easy-to-write story that nobody will really object to.
- codetrotter 8y agoMaybe the author of the article browses HN and/or Reddit and saw some comments about there being few COBOL programmers (I've seen a couple of comments about it in the past), and decided to write an article about it?
- ryandrake 8y agoJust more “evidence” to support the long running Shortage Of Engineers™ narrative. Just because the topic is COBOL doesn’t mean it’s not a submarine promoting all the usual things like outsourcing, more H1B visas, and over-saturation of STEM graduates.