Rate for very good java developer?

[expat]

Well, good luck JoJo.

Unfortunately your skills are commonplace and will not attract a premium rate in the market. You are up against thousands of developers with many years of experience in Java technologies, and a vast (and ever increasing) number of .NET developers.

On the other hand, old farts like me who know ancient, obscure stuff like IBM s/3x0 assembler, REXX, CICS, VSAM and so on are commanding something of a permium lately. And as we die off, our rarity value increases, like a fine old burgundy.

Specialise! Identify and learn some promising niche product inside out, and work with that.

You are right in several respects: that some fairly routine current skills are not at a premium and that contracting in those will not be financially comparable to some of the contracting mentioned on here; that much old stuff is still around in large quantities and there are NO new people doing this, and fewer oldies still standing: and indeed that the same is not true of later technologies (sorry Francko) because there is a higher proportion of people to remaining systems.

However, I don't see the dinosaur experience reaching its peak value quite yet. I have 19 years of old COBOL, CICS, BAL, MVS, etc, experience; but so far as I can see it's still only worth half of the current contract rate for Siebel configuration (for example); so I'm still only thinking of legacy for later/elsewhere/part-time/semi-retired etc. There are a lot of critical legacy apps out there, and few who can work on them, but so far the bean-counters are keeping the rates down: someday, real-life needs will trump them. That's contracting.

[Ivor1]

My place is currently recruiting for 2 Java developer contract rate is £500 - £550 aday, banking London.

[threaded]

At least these days you don't have to order the special golf ball for the printer before you can print the code.

They gave you machine time to print the source code, luxury.

We had to go to a special machine that wrote on each hollerith card what was punched there.

[threaded]

A "card punch" perhaps?

No, the card punch was a different machine. You typed and it punched it out the cards, you then collected your cards and put them in another machine that printed on the cards what was punched. You then checked this against your source code, putting a tick or cross against each line. If a line was wrong you waiting to get to the card punch again and typed out that line again and checked it and inserted in the, hopefully, correct place in the pile. Alternatively you could search through previous programs and find the same line used elsewhere, but after a while that wouldn't work because you did that before going to the card punch machine in the first place and only needed those extra new lines in this program.

[expat]

A "card punch" perhaps?

Excuse me, I'm off for a 0-1.

[Statistician]

SAS - Going strong since 1976.

I read somewhere that SPSS is planning for world domination in stats.

[TheMonkey]

The card punch electronics was 100% discrete RTL & DTL logic.

That's discrete as in separate resistors, transistors and diodes with no ics at all.

Oh god - DTL logic. I remember that back when I was an Electronics Engineer. Check this out - a recent reincarnation of old-style computing:

http://people.freenet.de/dieter.02/mt15.htm

[threaded]

Oh god - DTL logic. I remember that back when I was an Electronics Engineer. Check this out - a recent reincarnation of old-style computing:

http://people.freenet.de/dieter.02/mt15.htm

Kids stuff, hows about a (Babbage) Difference engine ... made of ... Lego

[TheMonkey]

Kids stuff, hows about a (Babbage) Difference engine ... made of ... Lego

Quality. I just sold all of my Lego on ebay as well. Bugger!

[hyperD]

Kids stuff, hows about a (Babbage) Difference engine ... made of ... Lego

Feck me - imagine building that as a five year old just to freak your parents out!

"Look mum, you can work out your shopping bill..."