Chris Nandor says:
>I think it is most correctly noted that being a *programmer* is safest
>for one's career as a developer. No one should stick to one language if
>this is their career path. If you know some C and some Java and excel
>in Perl, you won't have much problem finding a job. If you know only
>Java, well, you might get a job easily now, but maybe not a few years
>from now.
This is a point that is well worth reinforcing. I have never been able to
figure out why anyone would try to become an XYZ programmer rather than
just a programmer. I don't hire C++ programmers or Perl programmers. I
don't hire Linux geeks or Windows geeks. I hire smart people who have good
ideas about how we can get my projects finished on schedule and under
budget. Why is everyone so wrapped up in the language itself? Who cares?
We'll use the one that best suits our needs, and that will be determined by
a combination of the problem domain, the budgetary constraints, the
customer requirements, the licensing requirements, and the skills I have to
put to the task. If all I had were Perl programmers, we'd be out of
business. Fortunately, we hire people who will learn what they need to
learn and already know a half a dozen languages well enough to participate
in large projects using those languages.
Overspecialization is a good way to go hungry.
Brad Murray * Alcatel TAS Canada
