I have had to switch languages a number of times. As an independent developer, I need to grok the best tool for the job in a real hurry. ( Try learning electron propagation mechanics in 2 nights if you ever get bored. )

Ovid's Meditation has an excellent quote that speaks to where I'd go. The way to be most agile as a programmer is to seek the highest level of understanding of programming that you can. Syntax learning / refreshing becomes merely a matter of having a full bookshelf handy if you really know what coding paradigms can do for you.

Instead of diving straight into coding, I'd back off and think about coding. Grok the perl interpreter, try some XS, read a book on computational theory, pencil out a data structure for the Tree of Life. THEN, play with some code that does something neat.

The previous responses about non-commerical experience and bozos^H^H^H^H^Hbosses are all too true. That's why I like to add to my confidence level by deepening my top-level understanding of programming. Syntax is just 'stuff', and you'll never remember it all. However, if you know what you're looking for, you can always find it.

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