4 ms·

I can't tell if this is in the article as it's paywalled, but a company in York recently put up an advert for £20k/year for Cobol programmers with no programmin

I can't tell if this is in the article as it's paywalled, but a company in York recently put up an advert for £20k/year for Cobol programmers with no programming experience required, doubling at the end of the training period.

pavel_lishin 8y ago
Is that a livable wage there?
- barry-cotter 8y ago
  £400 a week, in York? Hell yes. £800 once you’re done training for someone who couldn’t program before they started is not just good, it’s fantastic for anywhere in the U.K. outside London for a junior.
  - pavel_lishin 8y ago
    Thanks! I don't know anything about York, and am honestly not even sure what the £:$ conversion is at the moment. (Being paid to learn a skill from scratch does sound pretty objectively good, though.)
    - emodendroket 8y ago
      It's about two pounds to the dollar last I checked, but PPP is probably of more interest if you're considering working there.
    - PNT510 8y ago
      I think the conversion is somewhere around 1 pound to 1.30 in dollars. So 26k for training and 52k afterwards.
      - nappy-doo 8y ago
        Forget India. People should outsource to the UK.
        thrower123 8y ago
        I'm not sure if you are being tongue-in-cheek or not, but it's at least a workable idea. Outsourcing in my experience is an almost unredeemable shitshow, with far, far more misses than hits, but going the cheapest possible route is much more expensive in the long run. The timeshift between US and British working hours is a lot more convenient, if nothing more.
        pavel_lishin 8y ago
        People absolutely are - one of my previous employers moved a large development team to Belfast, and another team has a team in Dublin (not the UK, but presumably their rates aren't too wildly different.)
- ljf 8y ago
  £20k for a 21 y/o would be good, more than many entry office jobs. And jumping to £40k would put you ahead of many office and other roles that 30+ y/o might hope to get (more than a local teacher with a few years of experience for example). Yes there are some higher paying jobs in the area - but if you are looking for a first role fresh out of uni - that would be pretty good. Exp if no experience needed.
- motogpjimbo 8y ago
  I'm not sure from grandfather's post whether the candidates would be expected to be computing graduates or not. In the UK, £20k is below average for a junior programmer straight out of university. For example, we've just employed such a person for £25k, in a PHP role. However, the jump to £40k, provided that the qualifying period wasn't too long, would shortcut several years of career development for a recent graduate. I'd say that's a good deal, except that I'd be concerned about the long term prospects for a COBOL programmer in the UK.
umichguy 8y ago
There is no mention of salaries in the article. But if you want to read it: https://outline.com/ZC4jn8 https://outline.com/ZC4jn8

pavel_lishin 8y ago

Is that a livable wage there?

barry-cotter 8y ago
£400 a week, in York? Hell yes. £800 once you’re done training for someone who couldn’t program before they started is not just good, it’s fantastic for anywhere in the U.K. outside London for a junior.
- pavel_lishin 8y ago
  Thanks! I don't know anything about York, and am honestly not even sure what the £:$ conversion is at the moment. (Being paid to learn a skill from scratch does sound pretty objectively good, though.)
  - emodendroket 8y ago
    It's about two pounds to the dollar last I checked, but PPP is probably of more interest if you're considering working there.
  - PNT510 8y ago
    I think the conversion is somewhere around 1 pound to 1.30 in dollars. So 26k for training and 52k afterwards.
    - nappy-doo 8y ago
      Forget India. People should outsource to the UK.
      - thrower123 8y ago
        I'm not sure if you are being tongue-in-cheek or not, but it's at least a workable idea. Outsourcing in my experience is an almost unredeemable shitshow, with far, far more misses than hits, but going the cheapest possible route is much more expensive in the long run. The timeshift between US and British working hours is a lot more convenient, if nothing more.
      - pavel_lishin 8y ago
        People absolutely are - one of my previous employers moved a large development team to Belfast, and another team has a team in Dublin (not the UK, but presumably their rates aren't too wildly different.)
ljf 8y ago
£20k for a 21 y/o would be good, more than many entry office jobs. And jumping to £40k would put you ahead of many office and other roles that 30+ y/o might hope to get (more than a local teacher with a few years of experience for example). Yes there are some higher paying jobs in the area - but if you are looking for a first role fresh out of uni - that would be pretty good. Exp if no experience needed.
motogpjimbo 8y ago
I'm not sure from grandfather's post whether the candidates would be expected to be computing graduates or not. In the UK, £20k is below average for a junior programmer straight out of university. For example, we've just employed such a person for £25k, in a PHP role. However, the jump to £40k, provided that the qualifying period wasn't too long, would shortcut several years of career development for a recent graduate. I'd say that's a good deal, except that I'd be concerned about the long term prospects for a COBOL programmer in the UK.

umichguy 8y ago

There is no mention of salaries in the article. But if you want to read it: https://outline.com/ZC4jn8 https://outline.com/ZC4jn8