Reply #200: That argument is often used and it's bogus. I'll tell you why.

[gkhouston]

Over the years, I've programmed in imperative, assembler, functional, object-oriented, and scripting languages. I've lost track of how many editors, debuggers, and operating systems I've had to learn the quirks of. I'm not unique--I'm an experienced, well-trained computer scientist. The notion that I can't learn yet another language on the job is absurd--I've sure as hell done it before, and quickly. The notion that I can't even be considered for employment because I don't have documented work experience in a language I've taught myself is wasteful, especially when I keep hearing about the shortage of "highly trained" people out there.

Any business that can afford to spend 3 or 6 or 9 months trying to find the "perfect" person for a position can afford to spend a month or two getting an experienced techie up to speed.