But at the time, all I knew was a bit of Python. And while I could've learned Java, I figured that being yet another Java programmer in the marketplace, but with no experience and a liberal arts degree, was probably going to get me nowhere.
So I decided I had to learn something emerging. Something where there was nascent demand but not much supply. I chose Clojure because it looked weird, and all these bright people were talking about how great it is. I invested a couple of months learning it deeply, open-sourcing my side projects, and blogging about it. I also spent that time learning non-programming fundamentals.
When I felt I was ready, I started reaching out to people in the community and companies on "Who's Hiring" threads mentioning Clojure. Within a couple of months, I landed my first full-time programming gig at an investment bank.
I know that if it wasn't for Clojure, I wouldn't be here today.