There's an emulator called Hercules that can run z/OS, OS/390, or MVS. The hard part is getting a copy of a recent version of the OS. Luckily, z/OS takes backwards compatibility very seriously so an older version won't be THAT different from a newer one for a beginner.
A lot of the big mainframe software companies like CA Technologies, Rocket Software, or BMC hire people with no mainframe experience (often straight out of college) and then train them.
If you're willing to pay for it, IBM offers classes in Dallas, TX for beginners as well. They are not cheap.
A lot of the big mainframe software companies like CA Technologies, Rocket Software, or BMC hire people with no mainframe experience (often straight out of college) and then train them.
If you're willing to pay for it, IBM offers classes in Dallas, TX for beginners as well. They are not cheap.
Marist College (located in New York, I think) also offers some z/OS certificates and classes. Unfortunately, I don't think they are online. I could be wrong about that though. http://idcp.marist.edu/enterprisesystemseducation/zosprogram...