[af_vet_1981]

the Dice Salary Calculator suggests $79,000 per year isn’t out of the question in California)

That seems like a salary cut to a professional COBOL programmer working in California all these years.

[af_vet_1981]

to a COBOL => for a COBOL (not a COBOL programmer, just an educated guess which is borne out by this:

The average COBOL Programmer salary is $76,990 as of May 27, 2021, but the salary range typically falls between $66,823 and $83,839. Salary ranges can vary widely depending on many important factors, including education, certifications, additional skills, the number of years you have spent in your profession.