Re: [Caml-list] how to encourage adoption of OCaml?

[Markus Mottl <markus.mottl@gmail.com>]

On Fri, Jul 8, 2016 at 7:11 PM, Gerd Stolpmann <info@gerd-stolpmann.de> wrote:
> That OCaml is not resume-friendly is a myth that still spreads in the
> academic world. Actually, it is hard for companies to find OCaml
> engineers (it is currently one of our search criteria), and I don't know
> anyone who was unemployed for a longer time. I'd guess that the demand
> for engineers is bigger than the supply. Of course, this might depend on
> where you live, and for what kind of job you go, and getting the first
> position in a certain field is never easy.

I agree that having OCaml experience on one's resume is not a bad
thing, but that's because it signals general programming competence.
There are plenty of shops that ask for FP experience, but on closer
examination just do that to filter out weaker candidates.  The vast
majority would still rather have you write C++ and Python.  It's
always hard to find good employees, just less so if you are an actual
FP shop.

A fairly obvious measure for the balance between supply and demand is
price.  E.g. the UK salary ranges in the following guide are probably
not too unrealistic:

  http://uk.hudson.com/Portals/UK/documents/SalarySurveys/SalaryTables_2016_UK_IT.pdf

As can be seen, functional programmers pay a heavy price for their
preferences (if they actually want to use an FPL) and that's not just
limited to monetary compensation.  If the above guide is of any
indication, they rank near the bottom (below even VBA and HTML5
developers).

It's a realistic assumption that money and status are significant
motivators for most students.  Having the choice between OCa-what? and
Python, they will quite rationally choose the latter, because it
promises an easier path to attaining their goals.

The more interesting question actually is why the supply side is so weak.

Regards,
Markus

-- 
Markus Mottl        http://www.ocaml.info        markus.mottl@gmail.com