David W. Evans, CISSP, CISA
Senior Systems Programmer
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama

As a new systems programmer I needed to jump-start my training. According to my colleagues, there was no better conference for that than SHARE User Events. After attending a SHARE conference, I must agree. I have been in Information Technology since it was called Data Processing. During my 23 years, I have worn many hats and have been exposed to several different aspects of Information Technology. SHARE definitely exceeded my expectations.

I was able to learn not just from someone who could reel off some facts, but from seasoned, practicing and, in some cases from actual product developers. At SHARE, attendees can meet and discuss real life challenges without speakers getting the “deer in the headlight look” whenever someone asks a question related to but not covered by their material. I think that professionals from all areas of Information Technology could benefit from SHARE.

At SHARE software developers and systems programmers were paired together. This means that I gained insight from people who use the products I use and help in making improvements to the products. While I benefited from each class I attended at SHARE, the sessions that focused on SMP/E and the System Programmer Productivity Tool Bag will have the greatest impact on my future development.

Now, I have a stronger understanding of SMP/E, and I learned about changes that need to be made to our user catalog backup applications to improve chances of recovery in our shop. When I told my manager about the potential problems that could occur without the changes, he was very pleased with the return on investment from my SHARE attendance.

Professional networking is extremely difficult via email, IM or any other electronic interaction. Face-to-face interaction was one of the major benefits I gained from SHARE. I plan to attend all SHARE User Events that my management will allow. There is so much to learn and I don’t know of another conference that has as much rich and diverse useful information for a systems programmer as SHARE. I would almost venture to say that if you can’t learn it at SHARE, it’s not a system programmer’s function.

If you would like to share your experience, please contact Brooke Ober at bober@share.org