On one hand I got to know a lot of people that teached me more about software development than my years of studying alone from different sources(I don’t have any formal education on software engineering or computer science).

Until very recently I was working as an optician selling eyeglasses(a family business) and had no prior professional experience in software development other than personal projects, open source libraries and helping other people. I wasn’t actively looking for a programming job because after a bunch of bad experiences with interviewers at local companies I had pretty much given up on that idea(why they want a graduated computer scientist to write some html and css escapes my comprehension).

But a couple weeks ago I got a job offer, and now I’m working remotely as an Elixir engineer at Packlane(there is a job listing in this forum).

So in terms of adoption and job opportunities, I’m inclined to say there are opportinities, and judging by the amount of new listings that appeared in the last couple weeks, I’d say that there is increasing demand.

Elixir has been great for me. I already had experience on paper to go for senior positions.

It niched me down which provides clarity of purpose. And I reslly enjoy working with it.

The hiring thing is tricky to talk about because even among intermediate to senior people some will have the experience that it is hard. Some that it is easy. This is likely where people share anecdotes and the real answer is that we don’t have data.

Also, hiring processes are pretty arbitrary and full of human factors. So someone can have a hard time for reasons unrelated to the opportunities out there.

I think it is quite doable to find work in Elixir when you have some experience. I do consulting so I don’t look for employment. I’ve had plenty of opportunities for both.

Now, with a clearer niche you also give up some conveniences. There’s a bit of a lottery on whether local opportunity exists at all but you’d be surprised, I’ve had multiple in Gothenburg which is not a big place.

Remote is what I’d suggest if that works for you. Some people also move for work. Haven’t tried that.

Now junior opportunity sucks. I think it sucks industry-wide. It is the long-tail of job openings, everyone is asking for experience. Our long-tail means that the postings for juniors are in single digits. The juniors I know that look for Python or JS work aren’t happy either. If you are in this situation, reach out on email, I can’t guarantee opportunity but I’m happy to try to help.

Elixir has been a very good choice for me in several dimensions. Primarily satisfaction. Even did a recent post about it: Underjord | It is not about Elixir

When I first started looking for a job in Elixir, it was limiting because I was looking for companies in my city who had Elixir opportunities. However, as soon as I opened up my search to remote opportunities, I had a greater range of job opportunities than I could have ever imagined. After joining my current gig for Elixir, I had the chance to engage with the Elixir community further, and talked to dozens of companies about their thoughts on hiring with Elixir. A strong majority of them said that hiring in Elixir gave them a distinct competitive advantage when looking for passionate devs. Their candidate pools were stronger, and they felt great about their hiring decisions.