DB job ad mocked for seeking applicants with Windows 3.11 experience
By Olivia Logan
A job posting from Deutsche Bahn has been mocked on the internet after the description outlined that applicants should have experience with Windows 3.11, an operating system released in 1993.
Deutsche Bahn job ad reveals company’s outdated systems
A job advertisement looking for a computer systems administrator at Deutsche Bahn’s offices in Erlangen has been widely mocked online after it revealed more information about the outdated systems Deutsche Bahn uses.
The ad, which was posted on Gulp.de and discovered by “Caschys Blog”, said that successful applicants should have experience with Windows 3.11, a program which was released in 1993, and would be in charge of “updating drivers and maintaining the legacy system”.
Erlangen is home to Siemens’ largest location, the company that hosts the Siemens Railway Automation System or Sibas, which Deutsche Bahn uses to deploy trains.
Deutsche Bahn defends “legacy” computer system
Speaking to Heise Online, an IT news website, a spokesperson for Siemens said that the job description was accurate. “Since trains and rail infrastructure have a lifespan of 30 years or more, our customers will continue to use proven legacy systems that are standard in the industry.”
According to t-online, it was this legacy system that failed and left trains carrying hundreds of passengers immobile at an airport in Paris in 2015, the same year that Deutsche Bahn finally stopped using floppy disks to transfer seat reservation data on IC and ICE trains.
With record-breaking, chronic delays each year, ongoing strike action and senior employees receiving millions of euros in bonuses, the job advertisement only added fuel to the fire of Germany's widespread mockery of disorganisation and deterioration at Deutsche Bahn.
Of course, when it comes to newer German railway infrastructure, Siemens is also responsible for producing some of the most modern systems and trains, such as the XXL S-Bahns due to hit the tracks in Munich in 2028.
Thumb image credit: Yevgenij_D / Shutterstock.com
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Editor for Germany at IamExpat Media. Olivia first came to Germany in 2013 to work as an Au Pair. Since studying English Literature and German in Scotland, Freiburg and Berlin she has worked as a features journalist and news editor.Read more