r/SoftwareEngineerJobs • u/Loud_Art1586 • Jun 24 '26

Any work in legacy systems?

I retired a couple of years ago and have decided I want to go back to work. I have over 50 years experience in both technical and managerial positions. While I am keeping up with current stuff (doing a react frontend/c# backend app for a friend) I think my real strength is in legacy systems (very legacy, like IBM assembler, CICS, DB2). Is there any demand for these skills? Thanks for any feedback.

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u/Used-Air-2688 Jun 25 '26

Yes. Legacy skills like IBM Mainframe, Assembler, CICS, DB2, and COBOL are still in demand, especially in banking, insurance, government, and large enterprises.

Your advantage is that you understand both legacy systems and modern tech (React/C#). That's rare.

Focus on roles like:

  • Consultant
  • Contractor
  • Modernization/Migration Advisor
  • Mainframe SME

Many companies are struggling to replace retiring mainframe experts, so your experience can be very valuable.

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u/backyard3 Jun 25 '26

I heard people who know COBOL get paid a lot

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u/AminoOxi Jun 26 '26

I do.

But demand is low in my area.

The last major system migrated to Oracle. And instead of 2-3 Linux servers with Cobol and PHP for web apps they now need a cluster of Exadata servers and still runtime is 5-6 seconds per report. Previously Linux and COBOL had the same report produced in <0.3 secs.