[falcolas]

No employee is going to be productive on a new codebase for weeks or months, regardless of the languages they knew coming in. And they're still going to be a drain on resources while coming up to speed with the code base, even if they know the language.

The sooner you realize this, the sooner you'll understand what your real hiring requirements are.

[logfromblammo]

I once eavesdropped on some HR people talking shop, and heard the unsupported claim that thanks to employment laws in the US, new employees are rarely profitable until their second year with the company, which is why it is important to hide the company's warts from the new employees.

After that first year, it isn't quite so crucial to keep you happy. That explains why you never get the raise you were expecting after the annual reviews. You are now profitable, therefore paying you more would reduce profits and make you a less valuable employee.

And so we must go job-hopping.