Reply to: Whatever Happened To Computer Operators?

[darmstadt]

I see that Jobserve now have a German site...

doing a search for operator on UK Jobserve gives a few jobs:

Find operator Jobs with jobserve.com

[cojak]

Well I'm very pleased to hear it Darmstadt, now if you could just point the OP to those sort of contracts I'm sure he'd thank you for it..

Unless they're all on mainland Europe, he didn't say he'd want to travel...

[darmstadt]

Operators went the way of the mainframe and tape decks.

Obviously living on another planet Both my contracts are mainframe and I get at least 2 calls and numerous mails a week for mainframe work. One contract is in fact tape related, moving about 120TB of data from an old VTS into a new one. All the mainframe sites I go to still have operators but the job has changed a lot from when I originally started out as an operator (I still get offers of operating jobs, at least 3-4 a year) and is a lot more technical, in fact I don't think I could do it now...

In fact companies are looking to go back to the mainframe as not only can you now do nearly everything on a mainframe that you can on a disitributed environment but they're more energy efficient:

Fact: A mainframe is typically 10 times more energy efficient than distributed servers.

If you look at just one possible energy scenario, the numbers are spectacular. According to a Robert Frances Group study a company analyzed consolidation of hundreds of UNIX servers to one System z mainframe. The calculations showed monthly power costs of $30,165 for the UNIX servers versus $905 for System z. That company calculated they would save over $350,000 in power costs annually

[dspsyssts]

Hairdresser? Shelf-stacker? You really don't sound cut out for the life of an IT Consultant - in any capacity - from your opening post.

Mmmm thanks for that, as I said I have been earning quite well for the last 10 years, I think with my Ltd company I even peaked at £78K one year...but its been slowly downhill since then.

There are plenty of AS400 operator jobs about, but most people have cottoned on to the fact that it's not a full time job and you'll have to do something else with it.

Really?...Michael Rothstein an agency that has been specialising in AS400 for over 20 years said they had one operator contract in the last 18 months, just dev/prog work now.

Mitsubishi UFJ are looking for an operator right now offering £40K+ but they are being very picky, I have an interview next Wednesday for an American bank in Canary Wharf again offering £40k+ so fingers crossed for that.

Thanks for the Cisco tips will look into that more.

[cojak]

I am not so sure ITIL is the answer as it is a framework for the service industry. If you still don't know anything about that you have a framework you can't apply surely?

Wouldn't getting a grounding in a particular technology be better and find a niche to get in to rather than coming armed with no knowledge and a broad based frame work?

Something like a Cisco self learn or something that will enable him to actually do something possibly??

Yep, definitely.

I mentioned ITIL only because he was looking at Helpdesk work.

Cisco stuff would be a better way to go if it could get him contracts.

Basically OP you need something that will place you on-site, as this is obviously going to still be around for a while.

[cojak]

Indeed, on the very page HAB linked to:

ITIL® V3 pins from left to right:
Foundation, Capability, Lifecycle, Expert, and Master
At this time, only the Foundation, Capability, Lifecycle and Expert pins are available.

That's what happens if you don't bother scrolling down the page!

Ta NF, and apols to HAB.

[cojak]

Story of my life.

I might give this subject a read this evening (or go to the pub). Partly to get organised, but I'm thinking about staffing requirements. I know I will need someone to do all the ops stuff. I am thinking about career path for them. This is a subject for another thread.

PM me if you need detailed info HAB...

[NickFitz]

Out-of-date Dear, that's V2 stuff, everyone's onto V3 these days.

I'm not sure if the pins still apply, but I'm sure that someone is onto that one already.

Indeed, on the very page HAB linked to:

ITIL® V3 pins from left to right:
Foundation, Capability, Lifecycle, Expert, and Master
At this time, only the Foundation, Capability, Lifecycle and Expert pins are available.

[northernladuk]

I am not so sure ITIL is the answer as it is a framework for the service industry. If you still don't know anything about that you have a framework you can't apply surely?

Wouldn't getting a grounding in a particular technology be better and find a niche to get in to rather than coming armed with no knowledge and a broad based frame work?

Something like a Cisco self learn or something that will enable him to actually do something possibly??

[Moscow Mule]

There are plenty of AS400 operator jobs about, but most people have cottoned on to the fact that it's not a full time job and you'll have to do something else with it.

[HairyArsedBloke]

Out-of-date Dear, that's V2 stuff, everyone's onto V3 these days.

I'm not sure if the pins still apply, but I'm sure that someone is onto that one already.

Story of my life.

I might give this subject a read this evening (or go to the pub). Partly to get organised, but I'm thinking about staffing requirements. I know I will need someone to do all the ops stuff. I am thinking about career path for them. This is a subject for another thread.

[nomadd]

I need to start learning something....any suggestions?....

Hairdresser? Shelf-stacker? You really don't sound cut out for the life of an IT Consultant - in any capacity - from your opening post.

[cojak]

My late mum always thought that I was a computer 'operator' as that was what her brain could cope with. She was born in the thirties, but although upper working class or lower middle class (she was a cashier in the City) it's how people of that thought. The idea that someone would write someone has to write instructions for what the computer did was beyond her.

Anyway, I had no idea what this ITIL malarkey is so I did the Goggle bit and the first thing I saw was a 'get certified in two days' which rather put me off. Then I looked at Wikipedia and got a better idea - thanks, I need to study this more as I have got a section to develop in my business plan all about this.

Now I know what these pins (I can't put an image in here) ITIL

I seen loads of Bob's admiring each others pins and wondered WTF that was about.

Out-of-date Dear, that's V2 stuff, everyone's onto V3 these days.

I'm not sure if the pins still apply, but I'm sure that someone is onto that one already.

[HairyArsedBloke]

My late mum always thought that I was a computer 'operator' as that was what her brain could cope with. She was born in the thirties, but although upper working class or lower middle class (she was a cashier in the City) it's how people of that thought. The idea that someone would write someone has to write instructions for what the computer did was beyond her.

Anyway, I had no idea what this ITIL malarkey is so I did the Goggle bit and the first thing I saw was a 'get certified in two days' which rather put me off. Then I looked at Wikipedia and got a better idea - thanks, I need to study this more as I have got a section to develop in my business plan all about this.

Now I know what these pins (I can't put an image in here) ITIL

I seen loads of Bob's admiring each others pins and wondered WTF that was about.

[cojak]

Operators went the way of the mainframe and tape decks.

Ask Milan...

But don't worry there's a big section in the ITIL Service Operations book that talks about IT Operations Management, so the work must be out there somewhere...

Work on help/service desks would have been great 5 years ago but you've really missed that boat. But go for it if you find contracts out there.

It will help if you get the ITIL Foundation exam - you can do self-study so it won't cost you as much. At least google it and learn about ITIL because you will be asked if you know it in the interviews.

Other than that, look at ways that you can get grunt work on servers or networks.

Ripping open boxes or putting in cabling, stuff like that.

As I've said somewhere before, google is your friend...