Discipline, teamwork, attention to detail, and a mission-driven focus are just some attributes men and women in the military can leverage for their employers when they return to civilian life. Those who work in the mainframe environment are aware that their jobs are critical to business operations, and veterans can fulfill those mission-critical roles easily with a little bit of technology training.
Veterans Can Be an IT Asset
Steve Hosie, CISSP, CISM, SHARE’s deputy director for the Veterans in IT program, says the Veterans in IT group is for those who have served in their country’s military. “If you’ve served your country, you are a veteran, and your skills are just what the mainframe sector needs,” he explains. “Veterans add incredible value to the workplace. A former armed forces member has a unique and powerful skill set that can greatly benefit any company they work for. They bring leadership, teamwork, a strong work ethic, core values, an ability to navigate stressful situations, self-direction and motivation to each job they do. Veterans also come from diverse backgrounds.”
When entering the military, preconceived ideas about the process are thrown out and the military trains you in core values, how to manage stressful situations, and how to become part of a team that can rely on each other in combat. For marines, Hosie says, “They break you down and rebuild you as the marine. But they also teach you core ethical values and what leadership is about, and it becomes inherently part of you.”
In the mainframe ecosystem, technologists won’t be dodging bullets. “But if the mainframe is down, your company could be losing millions of dollars per hour or more because transactions are not being processed. If the system is critical and supporting health care operations, down time could even lead to death. It just depends on what the mainframe is supporting,” explains Hosie.
Veterans have that discipline to see that their technology skills are critical in returning the mainframe’s operations to efficiency, and they may require sacrifice until the job is complete. “Veterans can manage stress better,” he adds.
“As a team, we also only focus on whether you have the skills necessary for the job and that you have ‘our six’* for the entirety of the mission. We know what hard work is. We know what leading, following, and mentorship means up and down the scale,” says Hosie. “All these things are critical in the IT environment today whether that’s in the public or private sector.”
SHARE’s Veterans in IT Can Serve Mainframers
By engaging with the SHARE Veterans in IT program, mainframers can demonstrate to other veterans how rewarding an IT career can be. “Veterans can have high expectations, be driven, and be direct. It’s our mission to ‘take the hill,” says Hosie. “In the IT space, that mission can be to bring the system back to operational status, upgrade the software, or complete a security assessment.” That mission-driven focus can make it harder to network with others in the IT space, but SHARE’s program can mitigate that challenge by introducing veterans to other mainframers. “Veterans in IT provides a space where SHARE members can connect with other veterans, get advice, share personal and professional stories, and network with one another,” he adds.
Whether it is meeting another veteran during a technical session or breaking bread with them over breakfast during a SHARE event, networking in person provides each SHARE member with a name, a face, and a story. It’s the connections mainframers make with one another that propels them to mentor one another, share their own IT challenge and solution stories, and provide each other with the support they need to elevate their careers.
“I’m an evangelist for veterans and mainframe,” explains Hosie. “For nearly 40 years, I’ve worked in the mainframe, with a focus on security. And many veterans work in the public sector, particularly with the government. But it isn’t just the public sector that needs mainframers. Private companies need mainframers.” SHARE’s Veterans in IT program will attract others who want to connect, share, and enrich others in the IT space. “Don't be an island of one,” he says. “We can add value to the other people's journeys. We need to ask ourselves how we can build stronger teams to enable and empower others.”
SHARE members with a military service background can join the Veterans in IT group and network and support other veterans in the mainframe space. To learn more about Steve Hosie, checkout our Q&A with him. Interested in joining the program, please connect with him via email or LinkedIn.
*”Our six" is a slang term that means having someone's back or supporting them.
Serena Agusto-Cox has more than 20 years of editorial experience and six years of experience writing about mainframe and information technology. She interviews and crafts forward-looking and engaging technical updates related to the mainframe ecosystem, highlights the experiences of thought-leaders in the community, and shares important updates to technical education and training.