Switching technologies (Java <-> .NET) - worth it? / dangers?

[VectraMan]

I agree with this. The only time I've seen or made an exception is if they have an associated skill that was required or they where a junior and happy for them to take the time to train up.

WTS. I did a 6-month C# contract with no experience of it thanks to them needing someone who could do C++ (and in fact some C). But otherwise you're always pigeon holed into one area.

Having a broad range of skills is more a permie requirement.

[OnceStonedRose]

Having a broad range of skills is more a permie requirement.

Have to disagree in this *yawn* agile; full stack; short feedback loop *endyawn* world..... I find that having a broad range of languages on CV and being able to prove, even just by chitchat interview initially, that you can find your way around with a little help from every developers sharpest honed skill of Ctrl+C Ctrl+V contracts are still very much gettable. Most of the phone interviews I've had the (inevitably) geezer on the other end hasn't made his mind up what technologies to use or have gone and used every single tech mentioned on stackoverflow that it's almost essential nowadays to have plenty of tech up your sleeve rather than one amazing one.

[SueEllen]

As a developer of some 20+ years myself, I can say that this is absolutely correct, however, this is not how clients and especially agents see it.
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Agents don't know what they are recruiting for. The vast majority just word match, which is why everyone on here gets irrelevant emails not linked to their skill set.

How clients act depends on greatly on the client and how you met them. If you have meet them through your own networking they tend to give you more leeway on lacking technologies they want in your skill set.