Are COBOL programmers still in demand?

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the job outlook for computer programmers is declining, but COBOL programmers are still in demand by companies that use COBOL for their daily operations, such as government agencies, banks, and other business organizations.

Why do banks still use COBOL?

Financial service providers still use COBOL because it’s fast, efficient and resilient. They can still embrace mobile banking, phone apps, and better websites. They just need those things to interface with the mainframe. Russell compared it to owning an old car.

What will replace COBOL?

Python, Java, C, Cobalt, and JavaScript are the most popular alternatives and competitors to COBOL.

Is COBOL worth learning?

Yes it is definitely worth learning in 2019 or 2021 and beyond. Very large corporations and government agencies still use COBOL. And if anyone ever refers to it as “obsolete” then consider the conversation over because they have no idea what they are talking about. In a word..

How is COBOL used in banking?

COBOL is the foundation of 43 percent of all banking systems. Systems powered by COBOL handle $3 trillion of daily commerce. COBOL handles 95 percent of all ATM card-swipes. COBOL makes 80 percent of all in-person credit card transactions possible.

Is learning COBOL easy?

COBOL is easy! Learning COBOL isn’t like learning a completely new language: it’s English! It consists of English-like structural components such as verbs, clauses and sentences. Its readability means that you can understand what a program is doing without having to learn a whole new syntax.

Who maintains COBOL?

IBM
As of 2017, there were reportedly 75 U.S. schools still teaching COBOL. This can, in part, be attributed to efforts of IBM. IBM even offers enhancements which make it possible to integrate COBOL and JAVA on the same mainframe.