IT career options

daz23

Hi all,

I'm currently working as a software programmer up in the north, working with Cobol and JCL, i've been working in this job for the past year since i left college. I have also done some work externily to the job i have creating website for various clubs ang organisations.

The thing is i'm looking to move down to dublin and hope to into a company working in java or other OOP which i studied in college.

I am just wondering does anyone have any idea at what level of a job i should be applying for, when looking on all the job boards i see plenty of jobs advertised looking for 3-4 years experience. I know i would have no problem applying for these jobs if i was currently working in the java industry but as i'm not do ye think i'm better off looking for a graduate position.

Has anyone on here managed to successfully move between the technology's after such a short time working on one technology and if you do recomend me to move how do you advise is the best way to find a job.

thanks,
daz23

jimmycrackcorm

If you really know your java then I don't think you'd have much of a problem. Would you get through a technical test / interview aimed at the level you want?

Your best plan now would be to do java certification before applying for a job. You could go for a graduate position as your real world experience would set you ahead.

dvpower

daz23 wrote: »

i've been working in this job for the past year since i left college.

You have one year commercial experience ...

i see plenty of jobs advertised looking for 3-4 years experience. I know i would have no problem applying for these jobs if i was currently working in the java industry

... but you would apply for jobs looking for 3-4 years experience?
That might have worked out for you a few years back, but not nowadays.

I'd advise you to try and get some Java certification (or .NET or whatever languages you've studied). Otherwise, the COBOL experience might actually be a negative point because you risk being pigeon holed.
Adding a certification in your target OO language demonstrates that you have a direction to where you want your career to develop.

Mrs OBumble

In the current labour market, if you really want to move to Dublin you might need to do so into a Cobol etc job: Cobol ain't cool, but it is useful in terms of keeping you employed in the lean times 'cos people don't want to get in to it.

You could try applying for grad-level OO jobs, but I'm not sure how many of those are around at the moment.

daz23

Hi all thanks for your responses

dvpower you said

dvpower wrote: »

You have one year commercial experience ...


... but you would apply for jobs looking for 3-4 years experience?
That might have worked out for you a few years back, but not nowadays.

If you advise not to bother to apply for jobs seeking people with 3-4 years experience can i ask you what jobs you would advise to apply for since there are few to none jobs advertised looking for people with less experience than this what would kind of job would you recommend applying for. Would you recommend applying to agencies to find me a job or even applying direct to company's.

JustMary wrote: »

In the current labour market, if you really want to move to Dublin you might need to do so into a Cobol etc job: Cobol ain't cool, but it is useful in terms of keeping you employed in the lean times 'cos people don't want to get in to it.

Hi JustMary, I wouldn't mind moving into a Cobol job it's just with the state of the current Financial sector there are very few Financial company's hiring at the minute, and with nearly all of the banks implementing a freeze on new hire's it's not the easiest of times to finb a job in this sector. Also as dvpower stated i don't want to get pidgin holed in it for the rest of my career and would like to try my hand at some OO programming.


I was just wondering has anyone else made the successful move from Cobol to other OO programming languages, with little or no expeirience with it

Thank's again for your responses any furture advice would be great

dvpower

daz23 wrote: »

If you advise not to bother to apply for jobs seeking people with 3-4 years experience can i ask you what jobs you would advise to apply for since there are few to none jobs advertised looking for people with less experience than this what would kind of job would you recommend applying for.

I hear this complaint a lot and I'll amend my advise to you.
Many companies when drawing up a job spec specify requirements like 3-4 years experience. Sometimes they don't really mean it - it's just a nice to have (I remember when Microsoft first released .NET seeing job adverts seeking applicants with 3 years experience using .NET; a virtual impossibility unless you were working for MS writing the framework). So, I guess you need to judge it from the job spec. If they are looking for 3-4 years experience but are paying a graduate salary or it otherwise looks like an entry level role, then by all means apply. But the market has tightened and the days of people picking up jobs beyond their abilities, I think, are over.

On the issue of moving from COBOL to an OO language, I would have thought that your best bet would be to try and get a COBOL job and try and move from within the company. Most of the companies that use COBOL (the larger financials) will also use OO languages. You may well find that someone who can cross over may have a big edge. Many older COBOL programmers in my experience don't want to move out of their comfort zone into OO languages and many OO programmers wouldn't recognise a line of COBOL if it hit them in the face. With a bit of both, you may well have a niche if you find the right company.

thirtypence

sort of separate topic - what is the job climate like in dublin for cobol jobs,? have 10 years experince with cobol myself and thinking of moving to dublin, fiance works there