I really don't want to sound elitist, but there is the issue that probably 90% of people who have ever written code for money know enough Java to get by and cre

I really don't want to sound elitist, but there is the issue that probably 90% of people who have ever written code for money know enough Java to get by and credibly claim they can do it on a resume. Just the ubiquity in university intro courses and enterprise use means everyone gets exposed to it. On the other hand, if you see someone took the time to learn OCaml, I think you can be reasonably well assured they legitimately love programming. Signal value jumps from "this person has ever programmed" to "maybe this person has a real passion for it."