I’m proficient and confident in many languages because I like solving problems with computers. However in a high-stakes and low-tooling situation like a job interview I wouldn’t choose JavaScript any day of the week because of the uncertainty, inconsistency, and footguns it likes to sprinkle everywhere.

There is absolutely a role for JavaScript, it truly does run everywhere which is no small feat. But that’s about all it’s good at.

What I’m getting at is that when you give people a choice they are going to optimize for the scenario, so you have a heavy selection bias in your anecdote.