> the additional stain of 'oh, what've you been doing? Cool, popular JS frameworks? No, COBOL? Pass.' on my CV
That's pretty much the last thing that I'd worry about. A company that evaluates potential hires that way is not a company that's worth working for, in my opinion. And most companies I've encountered wouldn't think that way.
You would be surprised. Don’t get me wrong I would love for companies to not show prejudice based on a candidate’s current tech stack.
However once you are outside of the SV bubble you will notice a lot of companies dismiss candidates based on their tech stack. The only time I’ve ever seen an inexperienced tech stack hire is from personal referrals from someone already working at said company.
That's pretty much the last thing that I'd worry about. A company that evaluates potential hires that way is not a company that's worth working for, in my opinion. And most companies I've encountered wouldn't think that way.