Computerworld

76 Pages·1997·15.9 MB·English

SPRING 1 9 9 7 * VOLUME IO ISSUE I
Year 2000: Cobol
strikes back page 4
Consulting: Is it
for you? PAGE 23
Intranets: The Web’s
where IT’s at page 39
The Skill Drill
PAGE 32 Resources: Train yourself
online pagegi
| lit
m l
hetheryou want to build the world’s Find out about Omaha job opportunities.
most sophisticated computers or the world’s
There are hundreds of IT opportunities in Omaha.
richest databases, you won’tfind more fertile
To find out what it’s like to live and work in
ground for your imagination than Omaha,
Nebraska. Omaha, send us your resume and we’ll send
Each year, hundreds of IT professionals
you a free CD-ROM about working and
are discovering the thrill of leading edge
living in Omaha.
development, the quality lifestyle and afford¬
ability of living and working in Omaha.
Call 1-800-852-2622
With more than 100 top technology firms
Fax [phone]
and strong support for your work, Omaha has the
Or E-Mail Rod Moseman
spark to ignite technical careers. at [email protected]
Omaha
Access Success
Omaha Economic Development Council • 1301 Harney Street • Suite 1601 • Omaha, Nebraska 68102
COMP
Editor
Joyce Chutchian-Ferranti
Managing Editor
Catherine McCrorey
Designer
Dan Beard
Copy Editor
Pat Erickson s information technology changes at a pace faster
than ever imagined, companies in all industries
Contributing Writers
"iUtS must stay on top of these changes to remain com¬
Natalie Engler
petitive. And the only way they can do that is to have high¬
Thomas Hoffman
Alan S. Horowitz ly skilled and talented employees.
Leslie Goff What exactly is a highly skilled and talented IS employee?
Kathleen Gow Well, that’s also changing.
Alice LaPlante
Highly skilled can mean know¬
Suruchi Mohan
ing C + + , HTML, Unix or
Steve Ulfelder
other programming languages,
David Weldon
but that’s not all. Many recruiters we surveyed and interviewed for this Com¬
Linda Wilson
puterworid Careers Edition stressed so-called “soft skills” time and again.
Compassion, communication, negotiation and teamwork — these “soft
Computerworid Magazines Editor
skills” are timeless in a field where change is one of the few constants. And
Alan Alper
they’re skills that aren’t necessarily taught in computer courses. They’re skills
Computerworid Editor
you learn in sports, or English lit or Public Speaking 101. Sure, knowledge of
Paul Gillin 1
the hottest technologies is important to landing a job after graduation, but the
Production Manager ability to get along with people is key as well.
Beverly Wolff In the pages that follow, you’ll find articles focusing on various issues in in¬
formation systems, as well as tips and resources to help prepare you for a job in
Traffic/Graphics Coordinator
Kim Pennett IT. For example, “The Skill Drill’’ (page 32) lists the top technical skills re¬
cruiters want. And “The Next Millennium” (page 4) stresses Cobol as being a
key skill for year 2000 projects.
Cover Photo Illustration
It’s a given that you need exposure to and experience with various technolo¬
Eric Yang
gies by the time you graduate, but in many ways, it all boils down to this: You
can’t get anywhere if you can’t communicate with people. See “Lighten Up!”
Copyright 1997 by Computerworid, Inc. All rights
(page 13) to find out what we mean.
reserved. Computerworid can be purchased on
35mm microfilm through University Microfilm Int. It’s a highly competitive IT world out there, and companies are vying for tal¬
Periodical entry Dept. 300 Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor,
ented IT professionals. Demand currently far exceeds supply for certain IT
Mich., 48106. Photocopy rights: Permission to
photocopy for internal or personal use or the inter¬ skills. So if you’ve got the skills, chances are you’ve got a job.
nal or personal use of specific clients is granted by
Information technology is here to stay. People are here to stay. Put the two
Computerworid, Inc. for libraries and other users
together and you’ve got a world of opportunity in front of you.
registered with the Copyright Clearance Center
provided that the base fee of $3 per copy of the Change, in the world of IT, is a good thing.
article, plus 50 cents per page, is paid directly to
Copyright Clearance Center, 27 Congress Street,
Salem, Mass. 01970. Reprints (minimum 100
copies) and permission to reprint may be pur¬
chased from Michelle Oik, Computerworid
Reprints, c/o Reprint Services, 315 Fifth Avenue
Northwest, Saint Paul, MN 55112, [phone].
For subscriptions to Computerworid, call toll free
Joyce Chutchian-Ferranti, Editor
[phone]. Subscription rates: U.S. - $48 a
year; Canada, Central and So. America - $150 a Internet; [email protected]
year; Europe and all other countries - $295 a year
(airmail service). Back issues may be purchased
by calling toll free [phone] for pricing and
availability.
http://careers.computerworld.com Computer world Careers Edition Spring 1997
4 The Next Millennium
2 Problems in the year 2000 mean
job opportunities now.
52 Rotate!
If you want cross-training, look
for employers who offer rotation
programs.
13 Lighten Up!
Your techie skills are impressive,
but can you relate to the rest of
the world?
Computerworld Careers Edition Spring 1997 http://careers.computerworld.coi
In this issue
1 Editor’s Note
4 The Next Millennium
13 Lighten Up!
39 The Web Is Where IT’s At
Everyone wants an intranet. If you’ve
23 Out There ...
got the skills, you’ve got a job.
32 The Skill Drill
39 The Web Is Where IT’s At
45 Simply Complex
52 Rotate!
45 Simply Complex 61 Resources
Meet the network computer, a
new, simple, yet complex, tech¬ Industry Watch:
nology that could be the future. A close-up look at IT opportunities
in various industries
11 Health Care
21 Utilities
31 Education
51 Finance
59 Retail
32 The Skill Drill
Demand far exceeds supply for
talented IT staff. Question is,
what should you know to get the
job you want?
Computerworld Careers Edition Spring 1997

the
By Steve Ulfelder
On Friday, Dec. 31, 1999, while most of the world parties madly, in¬
formation systems pros will be at work. They will stare glumly at their
monitors, wondering if their company will be in business after mid¬
night. Wondering if they’ll have a job on Monday.
THE YEAR 2000 The date fields in most systems allot only two places for the year
5
and assume “00” means “1900.” If unrepaired, this oversight — which
DATE CHANGE MEANS
can be traced back to punch cards developed in the 1880s — will lead
to uncountable errors when 1999 turns to 2000. For instance, if you
BIG PROBLEMS FOR
were born in 1977, systems will determine your age by subtracting 77
INFORMATION
from 00, at which point you will be considered a youthful -23.
It’s hard to overstate the impact of the year 2000 issue; nearly
SYSTEMS, BUT GOOD
every important system and application in the world will be affected.
JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Adding to the problem, the oldest systems are the most difficult to fix;
their code is ancient, cobbled together with undocumented patches
FOR PROGRAMMERS
created by long-gone programmers.
It’s a complex problem, and the deadline ain’t going anywhere.
The year 2000 issue means lucrative opportunities for veteran
programmers well-versed in Cobol and other elderly mainframe oper¬
ating systems. But you don’t have to be an old-timer to profit from the
date change. Most IS hiring managers say they’re actively seeking
young programmers for the team, and many believe it’s a great way to
er
c
Mer plunge into the industry.
h
p
al
R
o:
hot http://careers.computerworld.com Computerworld Careers Edition Spring 1997
P
Cobol, Cobol, Cobol
But John Scott, a consultant for the
year 2000 transition at IBM Global
So what skills should you brush up on Services, disagrees. “There’s an old
to get year 2000-related work? Simple: saying that if you can speak French,
Cobol. Invented by the late Grace Hop¬ that doesn’t make you a French doc¬
per in 1958 and bundled into IBM big tor,” he says. “Well, if you know
iron ever since, it’s the top dog of main¬ Cobol, that doesn’t make you an MVS
frame languages. Gartner Group, Inc., programmer.”
an analysis firm in Stamford, Conn., re¬ Scott may be right to sound a note of
for MVS would
ports that Cobol caution. Never¬
makes up 80% theless, supply
give [today’s students]
of the problem and demand ap¬
code. pear to deem
the basic skill for any
“Cobol for anybody with
MVS would any Cobol and
Cobol conversion.
give [today’s stu¬ legacy-systems
dents] the basic knowledge a hot
—Dave Bettinger
L. L. Bean skill for any property for the
Cobol conver¬ next two years.
sion,” says Dave Knowledge of
Bettinger, senior other widely
technical writer used mainframe
for the year languages and
2000 project at Photo: Stella Johnson operating sys¬
clothing and outdoor gear retailer L. L. tems (DB2, CICS, Telon and SQL are
Bean in Freeport, Maine. Bettinger some common examples) can only
and other managers say a single Cobol help. However, the shelf life of these
course, even one taken at a community skills is limited, according to IS man¬
college, is enough to get your foot in agers and recruiters, so you shouldn’t
the door. Continued on page 8
Jim Kenner, vice
Pencom, a re
It's Time To Meet Your DesTinij
Challenging opportunities Time waits for no one. Neither does an changing environment. In return, we offer
for career-minded college opportunity. That’s why Capital One is a highly competitive compensation and
using advanced information technology benefits package, exposure to senior IT
graduates.
to make the most of emerging business and business management, and a work
opportunities. You might think of Capital environment that allows you to pursue
•Object-Oriented Design
One as a credit card company. We are interests outside of the office.
much more. Especially since we are
•Unix To apply, send your resume to: Capital
taking our business in exciting new
One, ATTN: IT College Recruiting, 11011
directions. Think of us as an informa¬
•C++ West Broad Street, Glen Allen, VA 23060;
tion-based marketing company with
FAX: [phone], Or visit our Web
•Data Warehousing $11.2 billion in assets under manage¬
site at: http://www.capitalone.com for a
ment and an entrepreneurial environ¬
preview of our college recruiting sched¬
•GUI ment that will challenge you to be your
ule. An equal opportunity employer.
innovative best.
•Electronic Commerce
Bring your fresh ideas to a company com¬
•Java mitted to pushing the limits of informa¬
Capital
tion. We seek top college students with Qne
•Infrastructure and strong analytical and problem-solving
Architecture skills, an entrepreneurial spirit and the
ability to adapt quickly to a constantly IT'S ABOUT INFORMATION
Continued from page 6 Several recruiters and hiring man¬
drop everything to learn them. agers say they prefer recent grads who
On the other hand, “soft skills,” like majored in MIS, rather than computer
business knowledge and the ability to science, for year 2000 work. MIS ma¬
communicate well, may help a great jors’ business knowledge will come in
deal. L. L. Beans Bettinger stresses that handy, they explain.
because making the organization under¬
Testing, Testing, One
stand the acuity of the year 2000 prob¬
lem is so difficult, “a communications
Two Three ...
focus helps college grads tremendously.”
Michele Belisle, year 2000 project leader If you do sign on with an IS organiza¬
at Minnesota Mutual Life Insurance Co. tion’s year 2000 team, expect to start
in St. Paul, says she also looks for “good out doing a lot of testing. It’s predicted
communication and organization skills” to be the most expensive, extensive
for the same reason, pointing out that part of the year 2000 problem. Glenn
“this is the largest enterprise project M. King, vice president of Command
that’s been done in our organization.” Systems, Inc., a systems integrator and
application developer in Minneapolis,
calls it a “tremendous opportunity.”
Some analysts estimate that testing will
compose as much as 70% of the year
2000 workload. King doesn’t go that
far, but he says, “Of every million
bucks spent on the problem, 400
grand will be in testing.”
Computerworld Careers Edition Spring 1997 http://careers.computerworld.com