"Well the exact opposite is closer to the case -- the less proficeint you thought of yourself the more likely you were to do everything possible to hang on to your 20-plus year position at all costs for fear of not finding something else, for that lack of ability and talent."
The folks that I speak about THINK they are proficient, that is why they complain so much. It's a perception vs. reality thing.
Experience with a company is far more likely to indicate strength, knowledge and proficiency than it is to indicate weakness as you described it......the only exception is for gov't employees......the smart ones often leave and find opportunity elsewhere, the less proficient ones stay and complain how underpaid they are. Do you work for the gov't?
You say: "Experience with a company is far more likely to indicate strength, knowledge and proficiency than it is to indicate weakness as you described it......the only exception is for gov't employees."
I agree that it is an utterly dismal situation in re proficiency with government employees. It is less bleak in private companies. Yet in provate companies it is still as I say, and easy fiat money, easy slave-rate off-shore labor has made *it* so pervasive. It being the inversion of proficiency to longevity.
I have a fierce pride in what I do -- I work to get things done, and when done and done right I am no longer needed. That means I need a steady and vibrant mix of new projects to be done. That US cornucopia of yesteryear is gone.
To India for software projects, to China for manufacturing. To speak in gross terms.