Whether learning about the mainframe as a six-year-old child in your parents’ workplace or finding out about computer languages like Fortran and assembly in college, those first mainframe memories can jumpstart a career that lasts a lifetime.
James Vincent, past SHARE president, Michael Stack, retired computer science professor from Northern Illinois University, Liz Kaufman, retired mainframer, and Carla Flores, SHARE’s Broadcom liaison, share their early mainframe memories from the 1960s and 1970s.
Journey forward to the 1980s with Mark Wilson, technical director at Vertali, and Reg Harbeck, chief strategist at Mainframe Analytics, and learn what Steven Perva, senior mainframe innovation engineer at Ensono, had to say about just getting started in his mainframe journey.
During the 60th anniversary of the mainframe, SHARE members are celebrating the platform’s rich history embodied by these first memories. The next 60 years are likely to yield more memories and career opportunities that last a lifetime.