Ok but I'd argue Rust/Cargo shouldn't be an "unfamiliar language/build system" for most professional programmers these days. It's like a professional plumber being unfamiliar with solder. Like, yeah, you can do a lot without soldering, but imagine a pro just straight up not having a clue about solder.
It's worth learning how to do this stuff. Not just because you then know that particular build system, but because you get better at learning. Learning how to learn is super important. I haven't come across a new project that's taken me more than a few minutes to figure out how to build in years.
> Ok but I'd argue Rust/Cargo shouldn't be an "unfamiliar language/build system" for most professional programmers these days.
This isn't even close to true. The majority of programmers will be fine going their entire career without even knowing what Rust is, let alone how to build Rust projects.
A more accurate analogy would be a plumber not knowing how his wrench was manufactured.
Rust ranks 16th on the current TIOBE (https://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/), behind assembly, PHP and R. It is still not remotely as popular (as "based on the number of skilled engineers world-wide, courses and third party vendors") as C or C++ (to say nothing of how dominant Python has become).
The supposed ubiquity of Rust is the result of a hype and/or drama bubble.
It's worth learning how to do this stuff. Not just because you then know that particular build system, but because you get better at learning. Learning how to learn is super important. I haven't come across a new project that's taken me more than a few minutes to figure out how to build in years.