I am pretty new to Perl, myself, and have found it quite versatile. In my profession, I have used it to replace some long running Java programs that were plagued by hang-up and connection errors between servers. I agree with those who have posted that Perl is a great professional asset. Is it the only language to use, of course not, but it is certainly an important tool to have in your "tool-belt." Here is a great XKCD that I feel is appropriate (and incidentally this one is hanging on the wall of my office). xkcd://519