Close encounter with MUMPS

I just read part of a blog on thedailywtf that brings back memories.

When I got laid off from my first programming job in Dallas back in 1990, I went to several interviews looking for a job. One of the interviews was with a company (I don't remember the name but I think it was in Plano) that was looking for a MUMPS programmer. No MUMPS experience necessary.

The interview was one of the few I've had where I was interviewed by the project leader and the developers at the same time. The interview went well. They always had to train newly hired programmers on MUMPS since it was a fairly rare language.

They called me later to offer me the job. I think I was offered around $30k. Luckily though, I had gotten an offer from the Dallas Times Herald for more money and using the same stuff I was used to using (HP-3000, Cobol, Powerhouse, etc). So I turned them down.

The DTH gig was great, until the Dallas Morning News parent company bought the DTH 16 months later and I got laid off again.