[crystaldev]

This is the real answer, it's a huge career risk to make compilers your niche unless you have an academic background in it. The gatekeepers in most CS specialties are really good, and there's an attitude that if you're not at least pursuing a doctorate/working on a big Google project then you're probably a charlatan.

[rsmckinney]

Meh. No doubt there are snobs in the field, but in my experience most of the grit and innovation tends to come from solid engineers without a language/compiler focus, let alone the phd.