Hopping from a C++ to a Perl/Unix job

Question

Hi all,

I have been a C++ / Linux Developer till now and I am adept in this stack. Of late I have been getting opportunities that require Perl, Unix (with knowledge of C++,shell scripting) expertise. Organizations are showing interest even though I don't have much scripting experience to boast off. The role is more in a Support, maintenance project involving SQL as well. Off late I am in a fix whether to forgo these offers or not.

I don't know the dynamics of an IT organization and thus on one hand I fear that my C++ experience will be nullified and on the positive side I am getting to work on a new technology stack which will only add to my skill set.

I am sure, most of you at some point of time have encountered such dilemmas and would have taken some decision.

• I want you to share your perspectives on such a scenario where a person is required to change his/her technology stack when changing his/her job.

• What are the merits and demerits in going with either of the choices?

• Also I know that C++ isn't going anywhere in the near future. What about perl? I have no clue as to what the future holds for perl developer? Whether there are enough opportunities for a perl developer?

  I am asking this question here because most of my fellow programmers face this career choice dilemma.

EDIT: Since the last time I asked this question, I made up my mind to switch. I was just about to sign on the dotted line but some divine intervention made me seek some clarification about the working hours, and to my horror, the profile required me to work in shifts which I am never comfortable with. I was all the more livid because they didn't clarify this point earlier. It was a reputed organisation but still I gave them my piece of mind and said thank you very much.

Thanks.

Answer 1

• Regarding changing of stack, it definitely helps you long term in your career, both from extra experience available to offer to next employer to expanded job set you can qualify for to increased programming IQ due to knowing different points of view (e.g. Perl, for all its scripting origins, when used properly, has both OO and very nice functional paradigms available, but this point applies to any new technology).

  However, you must be willing to put extra effort in to actually learn new stack/environment/language, and to learn to do things new way (e.g. don't write C++ code in Perl :) - especially for that last benefit to kick in. Please note "environment" there - the jump involves for example learning new debuggers and debugging techniques (for me the hardest thing about C++ development after switching from Perl so far is probably doing effective gdb debugging after being used to flexibility/power of perl debugger).

  Personally I had to make this jump twice - from C developer to Perl and 10 years later Perl to C++. I learned a lot both times, and am not sorry I made the jump. The first jump was from IT role (Junior SA/Production with some C coding) to a full-on developer, the second was just a jump between different business teams.

• As for demerits, please be aware that you WILL lose your edge in whichever stack you're not currently using for a while. Not completely forget, but nowhere near where you left off - and that does not even count the fact that the stack may have naturally evolved in the time elapsed. Also, as I said, you MUST expect that to be effective, you have to put in a lot of effort to become fluent in idiomatics, philosophy and ecosystem of the new stack. E.g. simply learning Perl is a small piece of the puzzle - you need to become familiar with a large chunk of CPAN, just as you had to know STL etc... Not really a demerit as far as I'm concerned, but a point that needs to be kept in mind.

• As for opportunities for Perl developer, this was extensively covered on SO before. While the absolute # of jobs is likely less than that of Java or C++ ones, a high quality developer will always be in demand, and there's plenty of companies (including, or may be especially, in financial industry) heavily using serious Perl development (as opposed to simple administrative scripting). The language itself is developing and moving forward as well.

Answer 2

This is a highly subjective question. Whether C++ is "going places" depends on where you look and who you ask. For instance, C++ is the development language for video games and graphics processing, and is also used a lot in device drivers in conjunction with C (usually I see a hybrid "C+-", where some features are used from C++ in conjunction with more C-style architecture).

I myself moved from a C/C++ environment into a mostly Perl one, with strong Unix all the while (I actually know next to no windows API programming, .NET, VB-Basic etc).

Basically what I would suggest is sticking with what you enjoy most. This may not be the same as what you currently know or are best at. There are opportunities in a diverse set of technologies. Don't also assume you should tie yourself to one environment -- dabble a little and have some fun. Many facets of programming are constant across languages and environments. Get good at problem solving, writing unit tests, refactoring and planning a project, and you'll do well no matter what set of technologies you're working with.

Answer 3

Why not use your C++ expertise when working with Perl (where appropriate)? It's quite possible to extend Perl with C and C++. I'm not suggesting that you write all your code in C++ just because you know it and than put a thin Perl layer on top, of course.

Being experienced in related technologies is a really big advantage, not a mis-qualification for a technical job. I would suggest you take the opportunity to learn a new technology. Going back from "experienced but rusty" to "on top of it" in your bread-and-butter discipline should be a piece of cake if you have to at a later point in time.

Answer 4

Many people unfortunately consider C/C++/Java > Perl/any scripting language.

I'm on my 4th job, all but 1 job have been in big telcos and I've sadly noticed how difficult it is to jump back from Perl to C/C++/Java and from IT role to SW developer role.

By "difficult" I mean, that other SW developer-colleagues and HR would often think that you're less experienced/skilled since you worked in IT in the past or can use scripting languages.