I recently had the opportunity to speak to high school students about the mainframe. At the Houston Community College Career Fair, NEON Enterprise Software, Inc. , IBM and other mainframe companies collaborated to present a morning session that was all about the mainframe. HCC is currently offering a mainframe certificate program. Since IBM was on its way back from an expo, they were able to stop by in Texas and show off a real mainframe to these students. When you don’t know what a mainframe is or how sleek it looks today, this can be a pretty convincing sight to see!
The day was all about talking up the mainframe as a valuable and conceivable career path. I presented on my experiences in school and the road that took me to the mainframe. Others presented on why mainframe are important, why these careers are appealing, and the variety of mainframe careers available. We emphasized how significant mainframes are in the world today and how many companies rely on it. While we realize that not all 300 students would stand up and shout “I want to work on the mainframe!”, I think it was good to expose them to the ideas and opportunities that are available out there.
What I enjoyed most was talking to some of the students after the presentations. At least 20 or so came up to me and were genuinely interested in a career on the mainframe. That may not sound like a whole lot, but if we all can reach out locally and advocate for mainframe careers, we can make a big impact. It was a lot of fun telling them about how cool mainframe stuff is and how much I love being a developer. I even met one kid who said he knew Assembler! 16-bit Assembler…J
Getting involved locally in your area can make a difference in the large scope of all things mainframe. I want to encourage you to reach out to local colleges, universities, and high schools in your area and ask how you can participate and promote the mainframe. Check their websites for upcoming career days, get in touch with career counselors and computer science department heads, offer to present or help coordinate your company’s presence at career events…there are many ways to get involved. I’m telling you, seeing the excitement in just one kid’s face when they really understand the power and grandeur of the mainframe will make your day!
Kristine