well... i just accepted the offer to join the development team

[Aharami]

ive been working for this company for about a year now. working as a QA tester for this team. Team is about to be expanded by 2 developers and 1 QA. Team manager as well as QA manager thought since I have a degree in Comp Engg, I'd be better suited in the development team. So me and this other college grad who joined with me took the offer to join the dev team! So now that we switched to dev team, QA gets to hire 3 new people.

A little unsure about developing since I havent coded since junior year in college, but the 2 ex-developers in my team (QA) told me not to fret cuz COBOL and DB2 is not all that hard (health insurance comany...mainframe...thus old technology)

The thing is, QA team is a lot of fun. My boss is a cool person...she's always cracking jokes and the other people in my team are a lot of fun too. The dev team doesnt seem all that fun (most of the people there are really old and grumpy). So even though I'll be gettin a lot more experience, I'm not sure if leaving this fun environment is the right move. But whatever...decision's been made...and i'll have to see where it leads me.

edit: I dont think this is being offered as a promotion...so no salary raise that I'm aware of. This is being offered almost like a rotation within the team

aharami's notes:
-currently in QA team.
-team expanding by 2 developers and 1 QA.
-they offered the dev positions to me and another college grad
-we took it
-still in QA for another 3 months or so.
-not sure if i made the right decision...but i'll deal

 

[MrChad]

Eww, mainframe programming?

Is the pay the same as before? COBOL developers should probably be earning more than QA testers. I'd prefer the development job (then again, I'm a developer and QA testing seems horribly boring to me).

 

[Doggiedog]

How can you make such a life altering decision without consulting us?

BTW, congrats.

 

[xospec1alk]

Congrats, im in QA now, and i wish i were in development...i was worried that since this is my first job out of college, i mite be stuck in qa forever...hopefully my story willi turn out like yours.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: MrChad
Eww, mainframe programming?

Is the pay the same as before? COBOL developers should probably be earning more than QA testers. I'd prefer the development job (then again, I'm a developer and QA testing seems horribly boring to me).

yea I am getting sort of bored with testing. not using my brain enough. part of the reason why i took the offer. And no, no pay raises that I'm aware of. Yea...I know...company gets the best deal since they are getting 2 developers at QA's salary...but I'm looking at this as an opportunity to learn more. Also, i doubt they'd put us in the complex projects right from the beginning since the only COBOL experience we've had is a 1 month course when we joined this company.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
How can you make such a life altering decision without consulting us?

BTW, congrats.

hahaha! i actually did think about making a poll asking all you folks. But I was real busy this week and had no time. Also, im sure most of you wouldve told me to take the development job anyways

 

[AmigaMan]

to really get on the ole mainframer's nerves, just tell them that a single P4 Xeon is more powerful than their mainframe and that COBOL is dead, long live FORTRAN or something. Actually to impress them, write java code that interfaces with their COBOL programs using CICS Transaction Gateway. then show them the powa of the Intarweb!

<-- Bank java programmer with a huge mainframe behind his code...

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: xospec1alk
Congrats, im in QA now, and i wish i were in development...i was worried that since this is my first job out of college, i mite be stuck in qa forever...hopefully my story willi turn out like yours.

good luck, and Im sure the door will open for you sooner or later. The main reason I was offered this job over a seasoned COBOL programmer is because being a QA has already taught me how the healthcare industry works...and to them, that is harder to learn that learning to program in COBOL.

so it might turn out good for you too

 

[DT4K]

Welcome to the dark side.
:evil::evil::evil::evil::evil:

 

[Descartes]

Wow, I was the only one who said stay with the QA team.

I wouldn't join any project based on COBOL, and I base that decision on the following reasoning:

Let it first be stated that I do light maintenance on an old COBOL driven accounting package that runs on Unix and Windows with a COBOL runtime.

It's a platform of such diminished utility that spending any significant amount of time on it is a detriment to your career, in my opinion. I think the best path for a developer who truly wishes challenging work (which is seems like you do) is to pursue new technology. Not only will you have an infinitely better chance at making more money and finding new exciting work, but you'll never get bored. Studying COBOL is like taking a new job to learn DOS; you're going backwards, not forwards.

The above is just my opinion of course, but it's a philosophy I have employed throughout my career. I first study that which interests me, but secondly I insure that that which I study has the greatest ROI; the technology needs to be pervasive, stable, and potentially fruitful.

 

[BurnItDwn]

While the QA job my be fun, it's probably more of an "entry level" job then the development position. Even if they don't officially call the development position a promotion, It is most likely in a higher pay grade, and the opportunities for further advancement are probably much more open to developers than to QA.


I'm contemplating a similar dilema .... a move from a Unix/Oracle Tech support position (we have 4000+ stores, I support the store pharmay servers), to a Batch Support position (mainframe and Unix DB batch job support as well as queries for the legal department.) This group just got another position, I applied ... but dunno if I'll like it nearly as much as my current position.


Current position, My team lead and dept manager are awesome.
All of my co-workers are awesome
I really enjoy my work
Decent pay, decent raises ... possible to be promoted to Sr level within 11 months (Just transfered to my current job about 7 or 8 months ago)

Paths of advancement ....
--- Unix Admin
--- Application support
--- Batch Support
--- Team Lead
--- Tech support for the repair techs that go out to the stores
--- E Commerce


Position I applied for
The Team lead is awesome
The Manager seems to be a bit on the "i need it done now" side .... (which should be fine since I generally work hard and get things done on schedule or ahead of schedule)
Not sure if I'll like the work .... the DB and Unix sides will be fun ... not sure about the mainframe stuff ..
Slightly better pay ... decent raises

Paths of advancement
--- DBA
--- Development (about 15 different development departments to choose from)
The below paths would still be open as well .....
--- Application Support (technically not an advancement, same paygrade)
--- Unix Admin
--- Team Lead
--- Tech support for the repair techs that go out to the stores
--- E Commerce (some positions not technically advancement, some are)



I thought about it for a good solid day ... and figured what the hell, so I sent in my Resume and applied.

If I get it and don't like it, I will be stuck there for 6 months (company has a policy to keep people from shifting jobs around too often) However, after those 6 months, I'm sure I would find another position (though a small pay cut or salary freeze would be likely if it were to step Down)

If I get it and like it, that would be great ....



I Guess I'll see how the interview goes.



PS. I hope you like the Development job, and I hope it comes with a nice phat salary increase.








:::EDIT:::
One other note, I have never studied COBOL, however, I do know that the company I work for has almost all of their inventory systems coded in COBOL.

Even though it may be an ugly monster that fades a little bit each year, there are still LOTS of companies with LOTS of COBOL applications.

Eventually, I am sure many will phase out the COBOL with new software, however, lots of COBOL programmers are getting old and ready for retirement. As the population of experienced COBOL programmers decreases, you will probably find more opportunities. Heck, you may even find yourself working to rewrite the old COBOL programs in C++ ......