“Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it” is a famous quote by George Orwell.
Generations in the Overall Workplace
It’s probably safe to say that the general workplace of today encompasses people ages 18 to 70. This range includes 4 of the recognized generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials and Generation Z. In the articles, Main Characteristics Per Generation and Hiring Tips for a Multigenerational Workforce: From Baby Boomers to Gen Z, the work traits of each group are documented. Not surprisingly, there are distinct differences between the attitudes and behaviours of each generation.
Age of COBOL Programmers
According to Zippia, an online platform that matches job seekers to career opportunities, in their website segment titled, COBOL Programmer Demographic Statistics in the US, the average age of a COBOL Programmer is 46 years old. That’s a wide potential age range for this group. If it’s a strict average, these programmers could range in age from 26 to 66. There will, of course, be those outliers that will be younger or older. As a result, COBOL Programmers fall into the 4 generations found in the workplace today.
Generations in a COBOL Development Team
Due to the differences observed between the generations of workers, there is a diversity in the way people on a development team approach their work. COBOL development teams specifically illustrate this variety, since they are comprised of a range of the 4 generations, senior to junior members.
Baby Boomers (born 1946-1965)
Firstly, Baby Boomers are the older colleagues of a COBOL team. At this writing, they are aged 58 to 76. These are the workers that are very experienced but ready to retire. They live to work and are competitive, process-oriented, loyal to the job, enjoy working in the team, and are self-motivated. They want to know that they have made a difference after their years of hard work and devotion to their job.
Generation X (born 1965 to 1980)
This group are ages 42 to 57 and are part of the older team members but not quite as senior as the Baby Boomers. They may even be waiting for people in that group of COBOL Programmers to retire, so they can take over their role. They work to live, are independent, adapt to change (particularly changes in technology), value education and are eager to learn. This is the group who are focused on achieving results in an efficient way
Millennials (born 1981 to 1996)
These are the members of a COBOL Programming team that are 27 to 43 years old and are mid level, not senior but not junior either. This generation is interested in work-life balance, prefer detailed instructions and favor solutions involving technology. Millennials want to make an impact and share everything. They are achievement oriented.
Generation Z (born 1997 to 2020)
These are the newest generation of COBOL Programmers. They are 7 to 26 years old. Clearly, the work-related age range in this discussion would be those 18 to 26 who are working in a COBOL Programming team. This is the first generation to grow up with the Internet. They are open to technology and are accepting of others. Generation Z are very entrepreneurial, and self directed. They are fresh out of school and ready to bring their newly acquired knowledge to the workplace.
With all the COBOL Modernization and Digital Transformation projects going on today, once the Baby Boomers, and maybe even the Generation Xers, have retired, it will be interesting to see how the Millennials and Generation Z are able to convert COBOL into something more technologically advanced and progressive.
Which generational group do you fall into? Do the traits from the articles fit you? Maybe you overlap into two groups.
