It takes a while for the time spent learning emacs/vi to amortise itself. You need to learn the key bindings, the ad hoc scripting language, and the substantial

It takes a while for the time spent learning emacs/vi to amortise itself. You need to learn the key bindings, the ad hoc scripting language, and the substantial API. And throughout it all, there's the constant temptation to switch to something easier like vscode. I tried learning to use Org-mode as a Markdown replacement over Doom Emacs. At some point, I switched back to vscode+Markdown and it felt like a breeze. I'm not a SWE, so the payoff would've probably taken too long to happen. I also tried using the Maxima mode for Emacs as an interactive CAS. The only thing I got was Latex-formatted output and the same Emacs-like key bindings that you get in any terminal emulator. No auto-suggestion/Intellisense to help you navigate and avoid learning the API, so I wasn't overly impressed.