Coding is the easiest part. Understanding the actual problem and solving it is the hard part.
> A lot of coding is simply banging your head against the wall, search SO over and over, changing things around, until it does what you want.
It doesn't look like programming to me. Yes, sometimes we miss something, so our code doesn't do exactly what we want it to do, but when we realize it we just fix the code. This view of coding resembles an improved way to write Shakespeare with monkeys.
GitLab is talking about (not) training python people to do ruby work, which indeed needs months of work.
OP is talking about not knowing framework xyz, I'm assuming like knowing JavaScript but not knowing Vue or knowing Python but not knowing Django or Pyramid.
You can be productive with a framework in days / weeks if you have solid knowledge of the programming language.
> If you believe that is the case, then why not spend a couple weeks learning XYZ, so that the next time you need XYZ you can say you know it?
Because there are many things to learn and it doesn't make sense to learn everything just to get to the first interview at any company.
As a developer it makes sense to do one or two small projects with any framework just to see how it is, but that doesn't count as knowing the framework.
If it takes you 30 minutes to answer, of course I'll do something else. Which is good, because I don't want you to rush the answer and you don't want me to waste 30 minutes while you think of a good answer.
You probably talk a lot, I write a lot. So we are good at different things.
Talking / writing has nothing to do with anonymity, you can talk for two hours and I would still don't know who you are.
And my advice to my younger self would be to find a middle ground: do meaningful work but don't neglect the necessities.
The trouble with getting rich first is that you can't know beforehand how much time and effort it'll take to get there.
And focusing only on money may change you.