[sfpotter]

There are loads of people who'd be willing to do this at a national lab. The bigger problem is that very few national labs are located in places many young people want to live. For the ones that are (LBL), it's competitive to get a job there.

You're also wrong about the setback and being stuck in that niche. Once you learn the first language, more likely than not you'll have opportunities to continue to grow and develop in the role and learn new things. Most people are pretty adaptable.