
Ask HN: What are the possible future opportunities for developers coding in C++? - enlightenedone
As per current trends every other position is either for Python or Java developer.
What are the possible future opportunities where C++ will still be used?
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nostrademons
It's still dominant in gaming (though losing share to Unity/C#), system
software, and high-performance computing (of which quantitative finance is a
significant subset).

I would recommend not optimizing for _number_ of job positions open, but for
_desirability_ of job positions. You can only have one job anyway. If you
would be unhappy doing Python or Java it doesn't matter how many open
positions there are, you're not going to want any of them. Concentrate on
finding a niche that you can get really good at, and then figure out who's
hiring for it.

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enlightenedone
Thank you for responding,

My thought process was, Larger the number of job postings, easier it would be
to change companies (provided one has good enough coding skills).

Can you please elaborate on how to identify niche?

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nostrademons
That's true, but you don't need hundreds of thousands of alternate companies.
You're reasonably secure having 10+ that you could jump to. C++ is fine in
that regards; where it becomes a problem is careers like aeronautical
engineering or petroleum geology where you have a really specialized skillset
that's used by only 2-3 dominant companies.

For finding a niche - basically you try out a bunch of different careers,
problem domains, and skillsets, and specialize in one where a.) you enjoy the
daily work involved b.) the people around you tell you you're pretty good at
it and c.) you get paid reasonably well for it. It can take a fair bit of job-
hopping and exploration to get there. Do this at the beginning of a career
when it's expected of everyone.

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tzhenghao
It's still a thing for low level, systems software development, and I predict
will be for quite some time. Even popular projects like Tensorflow has a C++
backend. Other newer programming languages in the space like Rust have shown
promising adoption, but C++ has Lindy effect for it.

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enlightenedone
Thank you for responding, Can you suggest technology tracks, which current C++
Dev can migrate to without much effort. And still be relevant and in demand
5-6years down the line

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tmaly
I have seen a C++ quant position paying 500K a year. There are definitely
opportunities.

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enlightenedone
Link please

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tmaly
It was a job spec I was emailed.

