You don't have to pick a single language. Learn Perl and Java and C. No matter what you pick, you can always change later, and the most valuable programmers have experience in several environments.

If you are just starting your career, don't make bets on what will make a lot of money five years from now. Plenty of Perl will be around, but that doesn't mean anything to future earning potential. Get a good education and learn as much as you can so you have options.

You might have trouble getting Perl jobs due to geography, but if you live in the right places, plenty of big companies will snap you up if you have Perl skills. Indeed, recruiters will hound you if you're good enough (although that's more of a curse than a blessing :) ).

Update: I guess I should answer the question: Perl has never been a hobby language. It's always been a practical, get-real-work-done language.

--
brian d foy <brian@stonehenge.com>
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In reply to Re: Can Perl be more than a hobby language? by brian_d_foy
in thread Can Perl be more than a hobby language? by Alien

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