Fresh Faces Spring 2020 and the “How do I get programmers?” Question
Steve Will introduces the newest class of IBM i Fresh Faces.
It’s time again for a new class of Fresh Faces to be named. In this month’s IBM Systems magazine, Power Systems, you’ll find short profiles of several young professionals who have recently joined the IBM i community.
I’d guess most of you know what I’m talking about already, but just to summarize: For the past couple of years, the extended IBM i team has been making an effort to highlight the stories of people who are new in the IBM i workplace. While our community contains a large number of passionate people who have 20-plus years of experience (I am one of them!) we all know we have to build a new generation who can work with us, and then take over for us. That set of new talent has been dubbed “Fresh Faces” (thanks to an excellent marketing person who has, sadly left IBM [hi, Elizabeth!] but whose spirit lives on in our current IBM i marketing person [hi, Brandon!])
In fact, one of the most talked-about blogs I have written in the past few years is this one, in which I talk about the large number of Fresh Faces who have joined the IBM i development team here in Rochester.
As you read about these new Fresh Faces, you’ll notice a theme which has been consistent since the very first class was announced: very few of these young people knew about IBM i, Power, RPG or any of the other technologies which are at the core of our platform. However, they all had technical skill from school and/or prior jobs, and they were willing to learn. Their new employers were willing to let them learn on the job, while also asking the Fresh Faces to use their existing skills to add value.
Benedikt Ruzicka is the exception to that rule, in the sense that he was introduced to IBM i while attending Schule für IT in Vienna. He works for Panasonic Industrial Devices Materials Europe, and his job involves modernizing and bringing value to his company’s clients. He’s even spoken about the success they’ve had at user events, such as the COMMON Europe Congress.
Speaking about using IBM i technology to provide modern value is something he has in common with three other Fresh Faces: Mike Zaringhalam, Tony Turetsky and Thomas Decorte, who are already giving back to the community by sharing their knowledge of modern RPG and open source on IBM i.
Open source was the single pathway into the world of IBM i for Calvin Buckley, who drove the Mono project which puts .Net on IBM i. This type of effort and commitment portends a great career for these Fresh Faces. As Felix Kasper, who started using IBM i at his employer’s in 2016 says: