in reply to Popularity of Perl vs. availability of Perl developers

Companies always have a hard time hiring skilled developers, regardless of the language. I interviewed people for Java jobs at one company I worked for (writing Java). The company didn't want to pay very much, and most of the people I interviewed were the sort who were able to muddle through but had very little understanding of what they were doing. If you want people who are actually good and experienced and care about their craft, you usually have to either pay enough to attract top talent or interview a lot of people until you find a rising star. I don't think there's anything Perl-specific there.
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Re^2: Popularity of Perl vs. availability of Perl developers
by adrianh (Chancellor) on Sep 26, 2005 at 12:33 UTC
    Companies always have a hard time hiring skilled developers, regardless of the language

    Very true. However it's been my experience that it's harder to find a good Perl developer than it is to find a good C/C++/Java developer. Not a lot harder, but enough to notice the difference.

      I am a PERL developer in Brisbane, Australia. I have 3 years experience developing in this language. I was wondering how much my PERL experience is worth? My performance review is approaching and I have found it difficult to gauge as there are not many PERL jobs available in Brisbane.
        My performance review is approaching and I have found it difficult to gauge as there are not many PERL jobs available in Brisbane.

        First off it's Perl or perl, never PERL. It's something some people get quite worked up about :-)

        As to how much perl experience is worth? That depends on who you're talking to and what you want to do.

        It's a useful tool for many jobs, even if your primary role isn't as a full time perl programmer. Most unix sysadmins won't think of themselves as perl programmers, but it will almost certainly be a tool they use on a regular basis.