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I run a low-level programming conference [0] with professionals who rely on C and C++ day-to-day or just low-level stuff in general. While this is a plug, I genuinely believe joining the event and talking to them would help you. The networking / hallway effect, even virtually, shouldn't be underestimated either. Good luck -- there's definitely lots of system software people needed, as someone else here pointed out. […
On the Problem Domain front, Cloud Computing and Data Science are here to stay. They are fundamental shifts in the computing space and hence one needs to become knowledgeable in them. I am not too gung-ho on the AI/ML fad since there is too much hype around its supposed benefits but of course you can study it for its intellectual challenge and apply as need arises.
I agree with gregjor, and I’ll just add that I recommend checking out these (highly entertaining) videos by Alex Stepanov, creator of the C++ STL: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLHxtyCq_WDLXFAEA-lYoR... In the first few lectures he lays out what he thinks it takes to be a great programmer. I’m pretty confident that there will be a job market for great programmers for at least the next 15 years.
+1 for Stepanov. Programmers who can solve problems, add value, and work with other people will always be in demand.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Learning a language is easy, Learning the idioms, ecosystem, culture of a language to become senior level can take years.
Maybe. I think of a senior programmer as someone with a track record of adding value, capable of solving problems, leading a team, making sense of requirements. Mastering every intricacy of a language and its ecosystem has value but that’s not what most employers or customers care about or pay for. My customers almost never care about the language or tools I use, or quality of the code, or anything programmers obsess…
PS: David Packard's address to Managers might be relevant here - https://gizmodo.com/the-hp-way-how-bill-hewlett-and-i-built-...
My 2 cents: anyone selling themselves as an X programmer would immediately lose points as far as I'm concerned if I were hiring. Programming languages are tools. Being a C programmer is like being a hammer woodworker. It makes no sense.
They were completely different domains.
Depends on your goals to start with. Regardless of what I think about C, it is undoubtly the king of UNIX/POSIX platforms and embedded development. So that might be an area you feel at home with. Although C++ has lost the full stack role it once enjoyed with the 90's OS stacks, it is the current king of GPGPU programming (CUDA, Metal Shaders, SYCL and HLSL), HFT, what game engines use at their core. Finally as many a…
My experience with our C/C++ devs: they do a wide variety of software. From old Windows programs, Embedded firmware with or without operating system, drivers, or extensive Linux based UI programming. They are hard to replace, are tough problem solvers and deliver code in our toughest environments. I think all this data/ai focus is nice, but I think hardware is the real deal breaker. Have an eye on Rust in all the reg…
So there is the Problem Domain (specific subject expertise eg. ML, Big Data etc.) and there is the Solution Domain (Languages, frameworks, platforms etc.) As a Programmer you need to become good in the latter so as to apply it in any problem domain that you might be asked to do in a specific job. IMHO, a decent mastery of C/C++ is a must. Because that entire ecosystem allows you to work on everything from dinky littl…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe. I think of a senior programmer as someone with a track record of adding value, capable of solving problems, leading a team, making sense of requirements. Mastering every intricacy of a language and its ecosystem has value but that’s not what most employers or customers care about or pay for. My customers almost never care about the language or tools I use, or quality of the code, or anything programmers obsess…
To get anything done fast, and reliably it takes that knowledge to be decent.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Maybe. I think of a senior programmer as someone with a track record of adding value, capable of solving problems, leading a team, making sense of requirements. Mastering every intricacy of a language and its ecosystem has value but that’s not what most employers or customers care about or pay for. My customers almost never care about the language or tools I use, or quality of the code, or anything programmers obsess…
Please point me to these employers who don't care about technical skill. I was a tech lead for a year and senior developer for another on a FileNet application. I would love a $140k+ tech lead position that doesn't require experience in the tech.