
Ask HN: Am I right there's no place for C++ developers in the startup world? - throwaawwaayy
I just browsed 100+ startup jobs on AngelList, found 0 C++  positions. I filtered out hundreds of jobs for Ruby, iOS, PHP, Python, and about a million for Javascript.<p>I live in London, maybe this is just a UK thing? or is C++ dead in the startup world.
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Cozumel
Startups aren't about code, they're mostly not even about actual products,
it's just a lot of idiots running around trying to get funding using the
latest new buzzwords and shiny new tech that looks good on their resume.

If you have a strong engineering background especially in C++, you'll be just
fine.

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cliffcrosland
We use C++ heavily at Accompany. The CTO co-founder was one of the chief
engineers at Google Analytics where most of the highly scaled systems were
written in C++. Perhaps you could try investigating startups where the
founders have a Google engineering pedigree?

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sharemywin
Startups are about flexibility and time to market. Not two of C++'s best
qualities. Obviously, a generalization and an opinion, but I would argue it
fits the facts.

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itamarst
Keep in mind that many companies will hire you even if you don't know the
language they code in, on the assumption you'll easily learn new languages.

I've mostly done Python in past, and C++ long ago, but at current job I've
also been writing Java, Javascript, Ruby and Kotlin.

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blackflame7000
C++ is one of the most powerful and ubiquitous languages in software
engineering but keep in mind that you wont find much C++ in webdev because
Python,Ruby,PHP, etc are at a higher level of abstraction and their
interpreter was likely written in C.

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fiedzia
C++ is dead there (and in many other places). The closest thing is Golang and
Swift (and perhaps Rust). That doesn't mean there are no C++ jobs, but you'd
need to look for them elsewhere. Why is that surprising?

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throwaawwaayy
I don't see why C++ should be dead in startup world. With the emerging of AI,
machine learning and fintech, you would think there's plenty of opportunity
for using C++. I know there are plenty of C++ jobs in google/facebook, banks(i
work there), but still, 0 startup on AngelList is surprising, I was thinking
it's at least as (un)popular as java and C#.

I even found a Haskell shop there.

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fiedzia
C++ might be used. By calling it from Python or Java or Haskell, which will
allow you to iterate 10 times faster than using it directly. Startups are
trying to prove that their business idea works. This idea usually involves
using existing technology to solve some business problems, rarely it requires
development of lower layers of the stack. This may come later - or may come
never. You can easily use machine learning without knowing what C++ is.

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billconan
most operating systems, deep learning frameworks, computer graphics systems
are in c++.

the hottest 3 areas in tech, vr, deep learning/ai and self-driving cars, need
c++ intensively.

c++ programmers are at the tip of the programmer pyramid.

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throwaawwaayy
I agree, but most of the things you mentioned are done by big companies like
google, most startups labeled with deep learning/ai are using python or
javascript.

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billconan
that's why I said it's the tip of the pyramid.

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detaro
nowadays C/C++ is mostly something for:

* low-level infrastructure like databases

* desktop applications

* some embedded work

The vast majority of startups isn't doing anything like that, then you have to
subtract those that do it using other technologies and there is not much left.
And in many cases it's going to be part of a role, not a pure C++ position.

Once they grow more and more companies go into low-level things, but for your
typical young start-up it's a waste of resources if it isn't part of the core
product.

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imauld
Aren't most games made with C/C++ as well?

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erikbye
Yes, C++ is the language of video games. Often they use a different language
for game scripting (game logic and a lot of AI), but it's mostly C++ as far as
the core parts go; engine systems, renderer, etc. While most tend to use third
party libraries for sound and physics, they too are mostly written in C++.

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Maultasche
I've seen some demand for C++ in job advertisements in Germany and the
Netherlands for startups. These startups tend to be doing things with devices
of various kinds and need developers to write software for them. I've seen a
few that are also using C++ for high-performance, real-time sort of software
that isn't device-related.

So I'd say that while it's less common to see startups doing anything with
C++, they certainly do exist.

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nickpsecurity
People use whatever lets thdm quickly put together applications. Most that
know C++ probably dont hear much on C++ frameworks for web. Knowing about
those could help. Here's one Ive seen a few times in comments although not
tried:

[http://cppcms.com/wikipp/en/page/main](http://cppcms.com/wikipp/en/page/main)

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erikbye
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12846216](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12846216)

Fair amount of C++ here.

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jlarocco
I don't agree with that statement.

At SolidFire our core product is written in C++. We were bought by NetApp and
are no longer a startup, though.

It's not a trendy language, but there are startups using it.

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erichocean
We use C++ heavily in the startups I am CTO for. Recommended.

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acedinlowball
Yep, I am the CTO for 3 very successful startups. This has been my experience
as well.

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throwaawwaayy
Can I ask what's the name of your company/product?

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erichocean
Uh, he's trolling...

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pvorb
If you like systems programming, you should look for startups using Rust or
Go. I think they are more popular in the startup scene right now.

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CodeWriter23
Is C++ the only language you code in?

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throwaawwaayy
No, but I want to code in C++

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erikbye
Most experienced C++ programmers just put up with it, they really want to be
using something else, but have lacked, and continue to lack options.

If you are experienced, however, it's not difficult to find work. Video games.
Space, aerospace, automotive, and military industry. IoT. Wherever you can
imagine heavily constrained embedded systems. Or in the case of games, where
you have 16.67 milliseconds to render a frame.

