It might be, but there is hope yet.

Over the weekend there was an uproar about Expensify’s blog, why .Net developers are the wrong stuff for startups. Personally I disagree just because I’m a .Net developer who joint a start up due to its expertise in .Net. There are few more logical bugs in David Barrett’s arguments.

However, he does bring up a point that I’ve already alluded to in “Why Microsoft makes bad developers”. To quote David:

Microsoft very intentionally (and very successfully) created .NET to be as different as possible from everything else out there, keeping the programmer far away from the details such that they’re wholly and utterly dependent on Microsoft’s truly amazing suite of programming tools to do all the thinking for them.

I mostly agree (except for .Net’s remarkable resemblance to Java :))

What David says is Microsoft with its closed world and extraordinary sticky tools, make cookie-cutter developers. And obviously, this is what start up don’t need.

Microsoft has built an entire ecosystem around .Net. .Net developers have become dependent (even addicted) to MS tools and guidance. Only a few from this group look outside. And to counterpoint the start-up point of view, some businesses, reliant on the Microsoft stack, won’t even look outside it, regardless of cost and value – if it’s not from Redmond, we don’t need it.

And so, instead of magnificent debuggers, David is looking for the pragmatic programmers. And with the risk of angering some of my .Net colleagues, we’ll find most of those outside the Microsoft closed garden.

So should you rewrite your resume?

If you’re reading this blog, you’ve probably looked outside Microsoft’s stack even if you’re coming from there (like myself). Read more and improve yourself, not just languages – practices as well. Learn more about the outside world.

And then you too can apply for a job at Expensify.

What are your thoughts? Do you see .Net as a career risk?

Gil Zilberfeld