This post is a nightmare but lets examine it anyway.
How realistic is the idea that there are talented people trapped in some obscure language that could be underpaid? Unless you're looking for passionate zealots I can't help but think talented engineers could easily change languages if they so chose.
Yes, but many languages have adherents who strongly resist the choice to switch languages. And for some languages, being a diehard adherent has some signaling function.
E.g. a Haskell programmer, regardless of the suitability of the language itself, is probably serious about programming, and has advanced skills in certain areas of mathematics — you don't hear of too many "Haskell script kiddies".
Whether such programmers would accept being systematically underpaid, I don't know. It seems an unethical idea in any case, and if the language is truly N times as productive, programmers versed in it should be well worth more than a standard industry salary.
Comments
This post is a nightmare but lets examine it anyway.
How realistic is the idea that there are talented people trapped in some obscure language that could be underpaid? Unless you're looking for passionate zealots I can't help but think talented engineers could easily change languages if they so chose.
Yes, but many languages have adherents who strongly resist the choice to switch languages. And for some languages, being a diehard adherent has some signaling function.
E.g. a Haskell programmer, regardless of the suitability of the language itself, is probably serious about programming, and has advanced skills in certain areas of mathematics — you don't hear of too many "Haskell script kiddies".
Whether such programmers would accept being systematically underpaid, I don't know. It seems an unethical idea in any case, and if the language is truly N times as productive, programmers versed in it should be well worth more than a standard industry salary.
I once took a job that paid far less than I was accustomed to — simply so I could work professionally in Common Lisp.
It wasn’t a mistake.