Let me address the cold call issue first. I did find my current position via cold call, but the only reason I have it is because I actually know perl and was located physically closer than any other candidate as well. That being said that this was the exception rather than the rule.
I am going to disagree with you that this is efficient markets at work, as to why Perl is not widely used. A major problem that Perl has (not as a language) is that it is not marketed very well. Let me describe what is happening with my current position.
They are replacing me and the other Perl programmer that is working here with a Java development structure. The person in charge knew nothing of Perl, just knew that Java is a fairly well known language and that you could always find a programmer if you needed one. They did not look around and evaluate what was current in the organization or how well their current projects performed they just picked Java.
Step One: Write one-off projects in Java
When they needed a new application written, they hired a Java programmer to complete the project. they did not have a development process, so each project that was developed in Java was written in different styles, with different tools and when the programmer left, had noone to fix or update it.
Step Two: Commit to a development process
They hire a contractor (a very good knowledgable person I have worked with before) to develop the process for developing Java applications using project management tools, a repository, development streams, etc... (and a whole bunch of other stuff that I don't know about). As a high-end contractor he is being paid a kings ransom, and they are paying another king's ransom for all the tools that he is recommending.
Step Three: Need to increase pay to compete in the market
It has come about that they don't offer a competitive pay scale to attract experienced or good programmers. However their new pay scale still is not high enough to competitive.
Step Four: Convert everything and everyone to Java (where we are now).
They are in the process of preparing to hire or retrain about 50~ programmers to work with Java. I don't know what is going to happen, and I will be let go before I find out. I would suprised if it went well. I predict they will end up with programmers that don't have the skills or lack motivation to compete for better paying jobs. They will rewrite all their current stuff that was working in Perl to Java and that could take years.
They will end up spending probably, several million dollars to tear up their current infrastructure so that in a few years they will be back to where they are now. This is all about marketing, not economics or efficiency.
Update: Compensation
When it comes to pay for perl programmers, I think that the mark is generally lower because the market is smaller and therefore less known as to what fair rate. If you tie this in with how regional some positions can be, the rates can be in a wide range (but ultimately lower pay range than other languages like Java or c# or .NET.
To give an example, If you are Damian Conway, you have a history of computer skills and someone hiring says "we need the best of the best, no matter the cost", it would be easy for Damian to demand a high salary (I could picture in this type of situation $250,000+).
Most of us don't even come close to those skills or potential job situations (just ask Damian how many 250,000 job offers he has had). A more typical situation would be a Snr, Exp or Jr programmer. Here, a Perl programmer can be compared with, lets say a Java Programmer in the same tiers. However, when there is a move in the market for Java programmers that does not necessarially spill over to a Perl programmer.
Take a look at this sample table, ( just made this up )
| position | 2000 | 2005 |
| Java Snr Programmer | $ 75,000 | $ 100,000 |
| Java Exp Programmer | $ 55,000 | $ 65,000 |
| Java Jr Programmer | $ 35,000 | $ 45,000 |
| Perl Snr Programmer | $ 75,000 | $ 80,000 ? |
| Perl Exp Programmer | $ 55,000 | $ 60,000 ? |
| Perl Jr Programmer | $ 35,000 | $ 40,000 ? |
If a recruiter looks at something like this, they can see on the open market what the rate for a Java programmer was before and what it is currently so they have a good idea what to offer.
A Perl programmer is not such a well known quantity; you started offering the same pay as a Java programmer( in 2000 ), but it is harder for a company to match pay increases between Perl and Java because the positions are not common and are harder to evaluate ( this has nothing to do with productivity ). This is why pay goes up at a slower rate for Perl ( which is why you probably see low-ball rates for some of these positions ).
In reply to Re: Shortage ? Or Efficient Markets ?
by Herkum
in thread Shortage ? Or Efficient Markets ?
by renodino
| For: | Use: | ||
| & | & | ||
| < | < | ||
| > | > | ||
| [ | [ | ||
| ] | ] |