I started my career in IT very young, in 1978, as a data-entry apprentice. Mainframes were a world apart; I thought they were cool, but they didn't spark much interest because I was already in the IT field, in a different area. In the 70s and 80s, it was a significant field with high demand for this type of professional, given the growing volume of data, in documents, that needed to be transferred to the mainframe for processing. Within this pre-IBM world, I always focused on improving how data was entered and validated on equipment called Data-Entry. I believe I managed, in some way, to significantly improve the processes I worked on, since I had the opportunity to be a programmer for this type of equipment.

The data was transcribed, validated, and recorded on 3410 tapes, in IBM format, and sent for processing to the company's IBM data center, where there was a 4331. This generated great curiosity because it was something totally different from my world. The opportunity to join the IBM world arose when I was invited to learn how to operate and lead the IBM operations sector. In 1984, at 21 years old, I embraced any opportunity to learn anything related to IT. After initial apprehension, I adapted very well to this new world. We were all young and formed a great team. I learned a lot, changed many processes, making them faster and more automated, and felt a certain pride in being part of something that was already large at that time. Being part of the IBM world placed us above the average IT worker, almost like an elite.

The years went by and I climbed practically the entire IBM ladder, that is, console operator, operations manager, scheduler, production analyst, and technical support. At that time there was no specific mainframe training, no mentoring, etc., and I learned almost everything on my own, I'd say 90%, but that was the most common practice: reading manuals, testing, and, of course, making mistakes. I met many people who helped and encouraged me, and others not so much, but that's part of it. I was never interested in the managerial side of IT, as I believe I wouldn't feel comfortable. What I always liked was the operational side of things. From the beginning, IBM has been a symbol of reliability, resilience, and scalability. It's not just a brand, but the state of the art in technology when it comes to hardware quality and durability.

Today, working as a z/OS infrastructure analyst, I continue to trust the IBM brand as the main symbol of large-scale processing. IBM is strongly engaged in innovation and creating new solutions, as well as creating a new generation of professionals and ending the old impression that IBM was a kind of black box. However, this impression of being a closed world comes from the great security that this platform offers, virtually hacker-proof.

For young people, if an opportunity to work in the IBM world arises, my suggestion is to embrace it and dedicate yourself, because it's a world apart, interesting and with a great future. Some say that IBM mainframes will become extinct, but I never believed that, because no other platform has the same reliability, scalability, and hardware quality comparable to IBM. That's a fact, not an assumption. Therefore, don't let an opportunity to work at IBM slip away. At least try before saying you don't want to, because the IT world isn't just about pretty graphics, photos, videos, and games – it's much more than that: it's what makes the modern world work.