I talked to a guy once who was a "hibernate expert". On his desk he had about 10 books on Hibernate. Coming from the Ruby world, I was amazed and perplexed. Is Hibernate really that much more complex than ActiveRecord? Of course it isn't. But someone benefits complex frameworks and libraries, and libraries that are over-documented to the point of absurdity.
Who benefits is Java developers. Java is a simple to learn language, and almost everyone learns it in college. As a result, competition at the entry level is fierce. You can't break into Java development coming out of college without rote memorization of Java builtin classes, knowing Hibernate and log4j like the back of your hand, and knowing all of the latest acronyms and buzzwords.
This provides a cushy barrier to entry so people who survive that can stay employed without risk from cheaper incoming developers.
Who benefits is Java developers. Java is a simple to learn language, and almost everyone learns it in college. As a result, competition at the entry level is fierce. You can't break into Java development coming out of college without rote memorization of Java builtin classes, knowing Hibernate and log4j like the back of your hand, and knowing all of the latest acronyms and buzzwords.
This provides a cushy barrier to entry so people who survive that can stay employed without risk from cheaper incoming developers.