> I mean, how many different programming language were actually used outside of niche applications in the 80s, maybe even 90s? I started my career in 1985. I'v

> I mean, how many different programming language were actually used outside of niche applications in the 80s, maybe even 90s? I started my career in 1985. I've never been a mainframe programmer, but I know back in the day they were using Cobol (still do!), RPG, PL/1, and JCL. On the minicomputer side they were using Fortran, Lisp and C. Microcomputers also adopted C but also added Pascal, Modula-2/3, and of course, Basic. In the late 70's and even early 80's they were still working on the paradigm shift to structured programming. That's table stakes today but yes, there was a time when structured programming was a paradigm shift. Structured programming was all the buzz. And then came those weirdos from Xerox PARC with Smalltalk and talking about "object-oriented programming." Great. Another paradigm shift. Bjarne Stroustrup then had to go and post incrementally improve C to add object-oriented programming to give us C++. So far we've only made it to 1986 and we haven't talked about platforms! The various mainframes, minicomputers and microcomputers and all the different operating systems running on all of them. Since you said "maybe even 90s" then I would remind you that's when Python, Perl, Java, Ruby, and C# all came into being. From my perspective things have slowed down dramatically over the past 10-15 years. We only have 4 major OSs, 2 microprocessor architectures and there haven't been that many new languages: Go, Rust, Julia, Scala, Kotlin, and Clojure (hmm, maybe there have been a few new languages!) You could argue there's another paradigm shift afoot, functional programming, but it's been around since the 80's (!) and hasn't had widespread adoption. Finally, it's far easier to learn today than it was back then pre-widespread internet. You used to have to read periodicals and buy books. There weren't videos, tutorials, and the plethora of training options there are today. Add to it that all the tools you need to get started are free and you're all set! Bottom line - I'd say it's easier than ever to keep up with new developments. The field is moving slower and there's more resources available to keep up with the changes.