I worked 22 years for a state agency on big blue in a cobol environment which converted to a client server/oracle environment. I retired last year to relocate to a different area of the country to remarry, and hopefully expand my technical horizon’s. I find that there are still many mainframe environments out there(banks, insurnance, and other high volume buisness’s). But, for the life of me. I do not seem to be able to find a position in either oracle or cobol.
During my tenure I acquired what I felt was a respective resume even though it may only have been in a single work envioronment. This environment was the largest buisness’s entity of its respective type in the state I worked for. I also am able to provide reference’s of all my supervisors and other technical people from various other companies that I have had contact with.
But, based on the interviews that I have had, which I had the impression that I did very well in. I get the feeling that due to my single work environment I am not being given as much consideration as others are.
Am I incorrect in my assumption that my single work environment has hampered my technical career. Even though my references will all state that I have always kept up on new technoligy on my own, and offered those type of solutions when I thought they were cost affective? To the point that I would use one of my personal computers at home to teach myself any skill that I seen was slowly being migrated to?
I always felt that by moving around so much, that you would only get a sampeling of any technical skill. And never get a good understanding of both its pluss’s and it’s minus’s. But by being diligant in my personal reading on the subjects, that I would be able to both sugest and fullfill solutions in any new technoligy if it was not currently in place.
I just wonder what other’s oppinions are in staying with one company versus moving from company to company.
dan