[bambax]

I may have missed a step in your reasoning but why are you assuming they have to start with a "raw recruit"?

Why couldn't companies hire actual developers with no previous experience in {some_tech} or {some_framework} and train them in said tech/framework?

It seems companies, just like recruiters, feel safer when they hire a "rails dev" for a "rails position" when in fact a good programmer with zero rails experience would be much preferable to a mediocre programmer who has some rails experience.

PS: the song is excellent but I couldn't find any recent cover; this old guy with a Banjo is killing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlUExq2hNBU

[mechanical_fish]

I think hiring existing developers and training them up is a fine plan. And a lot of companies do just that.

But it works best if you have an existing team, trained in the technology, of sufficient size that it can afford to spend a little time mentoring, and with a long-term outlook.

There are teams like that who use Rails. But, as it happens, Rails is also a favorite tool of brand-new startup teams who are already critically overworked and who probably won't be around in six months. And it's a favorite tool of one- and two-person teams: When a one-person team loses a developer, the new hire has no mentor available. So there's plenty of openings for pre-educated Rails developers.

Mind you, there's also the cynical explanation: It's more "efficient" to advertise for "rails devs" because you can screen the resumes so much faster. Those who can't answer trivia questions about ActiveRecord syntax are out! This would, of course, be dysfunctional. But the whole job-ad system is already so dysfunctional that this particular bit of dysfunction may be lost in the noise.

[rmc]

But developers know that they can learn on the job. So an offer of "half regular salary, but we'll train you!" is not too appealing. Many companies will just pay regular wages. So we're back to where we started.

[bambax]

You're right. What I meant is that companies trying in vain to find rails developers should hire generalists, regardless of rails experience (at a competitive, normal salary according to the skills/experience of the recruit).

It seems companies only advertise for specific languages or frameworks; maybe they think they need someone capable of hitting the ground running, but if they spend a year finding them... it's pointless.