comment: >
  
  These situations where everyday people get to hold companies hostage just tickle me. If unions were more popular, I would get my satisfaction on the reg, but I guess I take what I can and work towards the day I can do the same.
context: This should be an IT cautionary tale for all companies, invest in software modernization.
  My company has critical services built on 30+ year old infrastructure design, the people who built it are long gone and "knowledge transfer" was superficial at best. Mainframe engineers are disappearing. Yet they keep kicking the can down the road, hoping that the patchwork holds. >
  
  So you're saying if I spend the next year or so learning COBOL, there's a chance that in the next decade I could have a shot at a 6 figure salary fixing mainframes? >
  
  what? if you know COBOL and understand how to work on mainframes, people will pay you insane money right now. right this very minute. >
  
  At an old company I was working at they had a business management software called AS400 which I think had its own variation of Java or something, had two 60+ year old making big bucks and they were told to teach a new IT guy before they retire. They taught him and the moment both of them left the new IT guy was like "you gonna double my salary, or im gone" >
  
  
  They taught him and the moment both of them left the new IT guy was like "you gonna double my salary, or im gone"
  
  Fucking legend. >
  
  You absolutely know both of the old people were spurring him on too. "This is how you make sure it breaks the moment you leave if they don't pay up" >
  
  I would have been if I was them lol
  Then if the new guy did leave, come back as a contractor for $200/hour >
  
  $200/hr is WAAAY too cheap for what you're talking >
  
  I literally know a software person at a bank who did this.  They let her go, systems broke, called her up and said she now does consulting.