I ... have just recommended a project with the recommendation to use Java where Perl would have sufficed. Betraying Perl like this to broaden my skill set is a terrible burden.

Technical decisions don't exist in a vacuum, and they rarely serve a single goal. When evaluating two technologies that are good enough (all other things being equal), there's no sin in selecting the one that enhances your (or the group's) skill base.

In any project, there are multiple goals being pursued. One goal is "ship the project". Another goal is "leave us set up for the next project". (This latter goal is one reason why projects bother to record so many intermediate artifacts.) Individuals who don't pursue a secondary goal of getting into shape for the next project soon find themselves moved into a technological backwater.

Things go awry when people don't balance the primary goal of shipping the current project with the secondary goal of setting up for the next one. On one extreme, you can stick with tools you're familiar with, arguing that they're "best", and avoid picking up new tools that are good enough. This way leads to stagnation. On the other extreme, if you always pursue new tools, you may never ship.

In reply to Re: Loyalty, Personal gain or Professional Integrity by dws
in thread Loyalty, Personal gain or Professional Integrity by hakkr

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