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I switched from C++ because the type of work is typically boring. Its either system level stuff, or HFT, usually some market data system or similar. Not to mention its likely a big old system with legacy code base.

Seeing the salaries now I kinda regret switching out, but the companies and business problems you get in Python & Java are much more interesting.



> the type of work is typically boring.

May be a personal taste thing but graphics programming, computer vision, scientific computing, robotics and even some embedded systems work is far from boring imo.

But certainly the above are niche fields in a market where software engineering is almost always limited to webdev.


Each of the industries you mention has a tech stack which must remain modern. That means that new work will migrate to the language easiest to do the work and find workers.

It's gonna migrate away from C++ if C++ becomes "legacy."

Embedded systems work is perhaps the exception - since there will be old hardware in the field. But firmware parts go out of production within 2-10 years and so new drivers require creation and new features encourage a migration to a whole new system.


As a game developer I agree that a lot of C++ work can be really fun, but this less than 10% of what C++ is used for. More so you have databases, non-robotic embedded work, crypto (ew), systems work, etc. And they all pay terrible; except financial, but that’s the most boring of all C++ work.


As a personal anecdote, all of my jobs were actually very interesting with lots of interesting design problems spanning from low level systems to very high level design decisions. Granted I worked in automotive and later in AR and have been lucky enough to be at the start of some projects, but there definitely are interesting projects for C++ out there.


interesting. i've always found that the basic CRUD apps that most python jobs end up being are far more boring than HFT or systems level


The grass on the other side


Yeah this is likely true. Its also some randomness if you end up on a good project & team or not.


There is a sweet spot - desktop/GUI applications, but it's getting smaller and smaller, unfortunately.




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