📚 What would happen to my career outlook if I never learn IDA?

I’ve been a forward-engineer for about 25 years. One day, very recently, I hit peak frustration and dissatisfaction with my career. I threw a job application out for a job I had zero experience in and they actually took me as a contractor to see what would happen.

This new job is a culmination of a bunch of things. It’s not actually malware analysis, or even security related. It’s not top secret or anything like that, but it’s in my best interest to be obscure about it; it’s extremely niche and actually relies on obscurity. That said, reverse engineering is a useful skill for the job.

Lots and lots of educational material references IDA, especially IDA Pro. The best description I’ve read is that IDA is like the “Photoshop of Reverse Engineering”. But holy smokes, the barrier of entry is absolutely ridiculous. It’s rage inducing, really, especially considering I’m working on Windows, Linux, and MacOS with both x64 and Arm.

How badly would it hurt my career if I stick to the more reasonable options, like Binary Ninja?

I have zero “unlearning” to do. I don’t have any habits or muscle memory for anything in IDA, or any other reverse engineering tools or workflows. The last time I was hacking anything was with SoftIce and Hex Workshop in the 90s.

So given a blank slate, what do you more experienced people think?

Or should I sell a kidney and get IDA Pro?