Filip Đuričković

A day in the life of Filip

Filip describes himself as a jack of all trades. He started his full time role at CROZ with the mainframe security team and got to work with and learn about security software and solutions including RACF, ACF2, digital certificates and more. He then explored application programming in PL/I, and storage administration. Most recently, he’s been the go-to team member for databases (Db2 and IMS). Filip’s varied experiences allow him to see and understand the bigger picture and look at a problem from many different angles, which helps him to assess and determine optimized solutions for challenges at hand.

In his role, Filip is in charge of maintaining clients’ systems. This responsibility includes system installations, upgrades, implementing new software and environments, documentation, resolving issues, and troubleshooting. He works with several clients across different time zones, so his day begins with checking his inbox to see what he may have missed during the night. After he is caught up with emails and calls, he prepares for his day of meetings. The real fun for Filip starts when he fires up his terminal emulator, which is where he gets about 70% of his work done. And whether he’s working at his office or a client site, Filip enjoys the versatility of his role - no two days are ever alike.

Inspiration for a career in mainframes

What inspired Filip about a career in mainframes was the fact that it’s so unique from anything else he had encountered. There is always something new to learn and the knowledge gained will remain valuable for years to come. He is awed by the mainframe platform’s enduring success and appreciates that mainframes are purpose-built, with intentional, continuous engineering innovation and delivery of breakthrough technologies to meet the highly demanding, ever changing needs of enterprise IT. “The way that everything on IBM Z is conceptualized, it makes you want to invest time in properly planning and designing everything that you do, and when you do that, it is really rewarding to see everything working in the best and optimal way,” says Filip.

The future of mainframes

When Filip started in his role at CROZ as a newcomer on the team, he found his colleagues were very welcoming. They all had many years of experience and knowledge that they were eager to share with him and pointed him in the right direction whenever needed. It is this strong sense of community among mainframers and passion for their work that also inspire him. At CROZ, Filip works for a medium sized department with 10 of its members dedicated to the mainframe team. At the time Filip joined, the majority of the team was comprised of senior system programmers and he was the youngest member by far. Filip’s success at the company was a spark that ignited his management team to discover there are many students who want to learn about and work with mainframes, and that it was worth additional investment in the technology and people. Four years later, Filip is not the youngest team member anymore. His team has nearly doubled in number, with four more early professionals having joined the mainframe team.

To anyone looking to considering a career in mainframes, Filip says “Take the plunge! It might look scary, it is not. Don’t try to pull parallels, it is a bit different but in the end it is just a computer. You won’t regret if you try it out."