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Banking software developer here. Cobol is specialized and mainly for maintenance. In banks. Has been mainly phased out, if it can be. It is an investment in a

Banking software developer here. Cobol is specialized and mainly for maintenance. In banks. Has been mainly phased out, if it can be. It is an investment in a dead/dying language. Why is that worth your time and effort? Have you tried Cobol programming? Do you like it? I dropped out of my Cobol class in college. Was mind-numbingly boring and archaic to work with. Are you trying to find a viable alternative to JavaScript? That pays 6 figures? You could pivot your javascript skills into something like react-native... mobile app development.

ornornor 7y ago
> Are you trying to find a viable alternative to JavaScript? That pays 6 figures? You could pivot your javascript skills into something like react-native... mobile app development. I’m trying to find a slower alternative to JS. Il getting a bit tired of having to constantly learn this week’s JS fashion just to stay relevant. I was hoping to find something more niche and not as glamorous that would give me more time to do things I enjoy instead of work. I was considering cobol because the spec probably is rather stable, and if it paid well and was in demand then it was a winning combination. But from your comment and others, it doesn’t seem to be it because overseas sweatshops are already filling the demand. I wonder where do these people who say cobol pays well and is in demand get their information from. There is no other evidence than “people say”
- cpach 7y ago
  AFAICT there are lots of viable programming languages that has a more stable ecosystem than JavaScript. Python, C#, Java, maybe Go, are a few that comes to mind.
  - apohn 6y ago
    If you want a stable language that matches with lower stress jobs try Java and work for an established B2B company. Lots of established B2B companies have Java based products they built a few years ago and they need people to work on those products. Assuming they have a healthy revenue stream, they are going to be focused on keeping the system stable and keeping their customers happy. They aren't going to be chasing the latest fad or the updating their Java version as quickly as possible. One benefit is that if you dislike your job, there are plenty of places looking for Java programmers. Compare that to COBOL, where the market is tiny.
zhte415 6y ago
I understand core banking is (was) going towards APIs for JSON output due to regulatory reasons (PSD2 - to clarify, PSD2 doesn't specify JSON, just, it seemed the easiest option where I was) and just letting the rest of the code base sit there / be maintained. Layer upon layer, not great but who wants to re-write a general ledger. Consistent with your comment. OP might be in a sweet spot with this given JS experience and a switch to finance.

ornornor 7y ago

> Are you trying to find a viable alternative to JavaScript? That pays 6 figures? You could pivot your javascript skills into something like react-native... mobile app development. I’m trying to find a slower alternative to JS. Il getting a bit tired of having to constantly learn this week’s JS fashion just to stay relevant. I was hoping to find something more niche and not as glamorous that would give me more time to do things I enjoy instead of work. I was considering cobol because the spec probably is rather stable, and if it paid well and was in demand then it was a winning combination. But from your comment and others, it doesn’t seem to be it because overseas sweatshops are already filling the demand. I wonder where do these people who say cobol pays well and is in demand get their information from. There is no other evidence than “people say”

cpach 7y ago
AFAICT there are lots of viable programming languages that has a more stable ecosystem than JavaScript. Python, C#, Java, maybe Go, are a few that comes to mind.
- apohn 6y ago
  If you want a stable language that matches with lower stress jobs try Java and work for an established B2B company. Lots of established B2B companies have Java based products they built a few years ago and they need people to work on those products. Assuming they have a healthy revenue stream, they are going to be focused on keeping the system stable and keeping their customers happy. They aren't going to be chasing the latest fad or the updating their Java version as quickly as possible. One benefit is that if you dislike your job, there are plenty of places looking for Java programmers. Compare that to COBOL, where the market is tiny.

zhte415 6y ago

I understand core banking is (was) going towards APIs for JSON output due to regulatory reasons (PSD2 - to clarify, PSD2 doesn't specify JSON, just, it seemed the easiest option where I was) and just letting the rest of the code base sit there / be maintained. Layer upon layer, not great but who wants to re-write a general ledger. Consistent with your comment. OP might be in a sweet spot with this given JS experience and a switch to finance.