You think that those people are getting paid the big bucks because they know COBOL, but the reality is that they are getting paid the big bucks because they have decades of experience with all the legacy systems that surround that COBOL.
Learning COBOL, even in a "real" environment, isn't going to be the jumpstart that you're hoping for by itself.
Learning COBOL, even in a "real" environment, isn't going to be the jumpstart that you're hoping for by itself.