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I want to move in to software development from a maths PhD, so this will likely involve a grad scheme and training.
How much does what I learn on the first job matter - for example, if I don't learn .Net or C# does it mean that I am unlikely to ever be able to take a job that requires knowledge of those languages. Or does it not matter?
It actually does not matter...What matter the most is how you develop yourself for wanted position. Ofc it can play a big role in your carrier and can be a great pushing you forward factor, but that does not define what you are and what you can do.
I started my carrier as database administrator as i was interesting in databases, I soon realised that my interest was no actually in databases it self but in that how they interacted with applications.
I landed my first job as DBA in big enterprise company as intern, worked there for about a year. When i realised that i don't actually have much interest in what i was doing. So i started learning web development, and started small as junior web developer at private company with like 10 people working there. Now i have worked for about 3 years in industry and working for a big company whos main business are loans, and i am growing constantly.
In short. Don't look at your first job as defining factor in your career. Look at more like getting experience in actual work environment, developing communication skills, working as a part of a team and so on.
Key factor in your carrier is how you develop yourself, it does not matter in which professions of area, but more how much you are willing to work with yourself.
Okay I'm confused, are you planning on going to grad school? Or are you just wanting a job in software with no/ very limited experience? If it's the later, why on Earth would a company hire anyone who didn't know the skills already? No company will hire someone for a software job without any software knowledge.
In many cases someone will get hired with the criteria they know language A but in reality first day on the job they are told they use language B. That's fine, because if you know one language it's not a stretch to pick up another (in most cases, not always of course). But not knowing any language? No way. No company has a new hire policy with the intent of teaching their new employee fundamentals of programing.
For example, if I don't learn X does it mean that I am unlikely to ever be able to take a job that requires knowledge of X?. So, does if you don't know X then why should an employer who needs X hire you? Or did you mis state something in this question – Brandin Aug 5 '14 at 15:32"If I don't learn C++ does it mean that I am unlikely to ever be able to take a job that requires knowledge of C++?"I think I can answer my own question already – Brandin Aug 8 '14 at 16:28