How many have learned a language they hated just to get a job? 
strlen: I wouldn't worry about the language bits (as long as it isn't something entirely brain rotting like ColdFusion, ASP, PHP or COBOL), as much as by the fact they all seem like the usual enterprisey "read text from a database display it on a screen" jobs. A CRUD app in Ruby or Python is certainly a lot more fun to build than in Java (and most importantly, easier to maintain and modify), but  it's still a CRUD app.I'd suggest looking into a different geographic area, joining a technology company (which produces a software product; serious Internet companies fall under that umbrella).I'd recommend high-traction, well funded start-ups that have been around the block (with serious technical identities); big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft or Yahoo are a good bet too: they solve very interesting problems and are willing to mentor you. Yes, they typically use various forms of blub for production code. However, no one will object to you writing a prototype in Python (or an IDL->code translator in OCaml), and you'll be able to pick up skills that are rare and meet serious hackers.The reason I don't recommend smaller start-ups is that their goals aren't always aligned with yours: your goal is to build up the skills needed to solve big, interesting problems; depending on the founders, investors and the market the goal of a start-up might be to make any product, even if there isn't much technical skill (for you) to be gained by building that product.Knowing something others don't know (it could be machine learning, search, compiler construction, systems programming, numerical analysis, etc...) means you're not a commodity. If you're not a commodity, you're much more likely to be allowed to use non-commodity tools (e.g., start a pilot project in Python, Erlang or Haskell instead of Java or C++, or start adding Scala modules to an existing Java application). It also means better pay in the long term, but you should not use pay as a yard-stick when deciding on your first job: an MBA-type "founder" might be really desperate for you to a web app for him, but a software company is making an investment in you.Edit: see the comment from cperciva -- if you have skills (in his case security and mathematics, from his FreeBSD and academic work) that others don't, you can find ways to use tools that you enjoy using: either by finding a workplace which uses these tools or having enough "clout" to introduce those tools to other companies.