Learning Perl and its Future?

Hi All,

I keep asking myself the question whether i'm doing the right thing learning Perl?

I'm new to Perl (as you can see from my posts) and want to become a programmer in the near future.. what future does Perl have? Is it worth me learning Perl? How's the job market like?

Also, probably a silly question but how long does it take for an average learner at an average self studying speed to become an advanced programmer of Perl? to the point of applying for Perl jobs.

Ive searched but not come across a complete or a satisfying confidence booster answer..

thanks in advance

re: Learning Perl and its Future?

Learning any programming language is beneficial if you want to be a developer. Perl is especially good because of its versatility in handling a multitude of different tasks. Plus, its regular expressions are the most powerful..... period!

The job market is a funny question considering the current world economy. I cannot speak for any other countries, but as long is there is code, there will be people needed to support and expand it. Plus, Perl is used by more than just developers. Its a great tool for sysadmins to get things done faster and repetitively.

As for learning Perl, you have to code it to learn it, just like anything else. Start taking your everyday repetitive tasks and try doing them in Perl. Go to the CPAN archives and start learning modules. Read the Perl FAQ's as they are an incredible source of knowledge.

Once you learn a language, it will be a breeze to pick up other languages. (generally).

Whatever you decide, we are always here to help.

Regards,

Jeff

re: Learning Perl and its Future?

coolio, thank you Jeff

re: Learning Perl and its Future?

Self learning to be considered competent enough to apply for jobs? If you are smart and a fast learner, 3 to 4 years, could be less if you are already familiar with related fields like databases and operating system stuff.

re: Learning Perl and its Future?

Looks like a good number of perl programmer jobs listed on monster.com

http://jobsearch.monster.com/Search....lid=316&re=130

re: Learning Perl and its Future?

Less is definitely possible. I have about 3-4 years of Perl experience now and got my first Perl job after only about a year of actively playing with Perl.