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Comparing Perl to Java is silly (Score:2)
There is simply no way you can compare recruiting Java skilled programmers to recruiting Perl skilled programmers.
Java is hugely mainstream with large numbers of graduates churned out who don't even know how to set classpaths or sort lists.
Perl is not mainstream and has graduates who trained in it at work or at home, it's rarely a first language or formally taught.
Recruiting good staff is hard, the size of the pool doesn't make it any easier.
Recruiting good staff who have specialised a bit (i.e. become good at perl) is a bit harder.
Otherwise you're doing it wrong.
The BBC are struggling to get staff because they are paying well below market rates, they always have, and likely always will - look at the contract rates for the BBC, the only time people start to really look at the beeb is during a recession when the better paid jobs aren't as available.
The fact that a couple of people in north america find it easier to find Java people doesn't reflect on Perl much, it's always been easier to find Java people, it always will - Perl's pool of skilled coders could increase by 500% and still not come close.
When you compare to Python and Ruby, you see that they are only growing fast relative to their very small starting size, the actual numbers don't add up to much, and have already peaked, the growth of less mainstream languages than Perl is now static or seasonal.
@JAPH = qw(Hacker Perl Another Just);
print reverse @JAPH;
Reply to This
Re: (Score:1)
You've totally missed the point. It isn't that it is easier to find Java programmers than Perl programmers, it's that it is *hard* to find *competent* Perl programmers for a wage that the employer can afford. While it is true that Java programmers are churned out of University at a dime a dozen, they remain in the language and fill out a continuum of competency. Your response is "Pay More", but that again ignores the underlying problem (and the realities of the real world).
In a healthy community there wou
Re: (Score:2)
I think there is actually that continuum, but some employers are in denial about what they actually need.
recruiting is hard, recruiting a senior perl programmer for less than would be paid for a senior programmer in C++ or Java and then complaining is what I've seen.
The BBC contract's I've seen fall within IR35 and you'd better paid in a decent junior role. That's nut's.
@JAPH = qw(Hacker Perl Another Just);
print reverse @JAPH;