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"It would take me 6 months to start contributing to a Python codebase even though I have significant experience in the language" - Python, specifically, suffers
by dimino 10y ago
"It would take me 6 months to start contributing to a Python codebase even though I have significant experience in the language" - Python, specifically, suffers from its own "ease of use" when it comes to hiring and "years of experience" listed on resumés. A hacker who happens to use Python to automate some tedious task but has no clue about how to actually write idiomatic, well tested and maintainable code can claim "4 years of Python experience", for example. To sum, it's very easy to write and maintain truly shitty Python, and "years of experience" mean especially little.
- jakebasile 10y agoI agree, which is why I always make a point to go into specifics about what I did in Python, what the product does, and that it is still used at the company I created it for.
- dimino 10y agoThis might be part of your struggle, perhaps, as those kinds of things ("product did x y and z, I wrote it by myself, it's still in use", etc.) fall into the "solved a problem" category (valuable, don't get me wrong) rather than the "built a clean, maintainable system" category ("100% test coverage, followed sem ver and git flow, maintained a 7+ on pylint, used these design patterns", etc.). Folks in the latter category don't need 6 months for any Python-based system. Folks in the former category are useful in certain ways, but difficult to plug into a larger team, and if companies know enough to know they need a "Python" developer, that's because someone technical already picked Python, and the position is to work with at least that one other technical person. It's likely similar with JS, Ruby, and other "newer" languages that have reputations for being "easy to pick up".