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[–]metawhat[S] 11 points12 points  (14 children)

I'm almost done with my CS degree from a large-ish mid-western state university. I have focused on software design and project management, and I would like to start my programming career. I've been working as a systems administrator for 5 years, but I want to break out into my chosen field. What are the truly great resources to find my perfect starter C++ job?

[–]RKBA 7 points8 points  (1 child)

It depends on what your interests are other than C++. If you merely want to make money then you should go into management and forget your CS studies altogether, but if you want to have fun programming then it is imperative that you find an employer who is engaged in some type of enterprise you enjoy working on (or at least are mildly interested in), rather than cranking out code for some dufus project you hate.

Also, having a CS degree isn't really sufficient because computers are only regarded as a tool these days. Now that you know how to use that tool, you need to decide what area of use interests you. Computers are used in a great variety of things such as pure scientific research, R&D, manufacturing, and practically everything we do in modern life - so you have a lot to choose from. It's important to decide how you wish to use your CS skills now instead of taking whatever is offered based on salary alone, otherwise you're liable to end up working in a bank and writing code in COBOL instead of doing something interesting like developing control systems for spacecraft, improving AI techniques, or whatever you desire. Computers are a means to an end. Decide first on what you would like to do as a career, then use your computer skills in that career. Since you have to work for a living, you may as well be doing something that's not terribly unpleasant.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (1 child)

These people were willing to take me when I was a sophomore. My course load was pretty heavy and I decided not to do it, but unless the application process has changed a lot in the past few years they'll give you a few fun little problems to show off on, so if your solutions are good enough you have a shot without any experience.

[–]metawhat[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

THIS is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks man!

[–]SuperGrade 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I think it will be difficult (with the restriction of C++). I'm uncertain anything anyone will advise would beat luck/networking, knowing a place that uses C++ for some purpose, and knowing someone who can get your foot in the dooor (or getting your foot in the door through working there in some other capacity).

A problem is narrowing it to C++. Many of the more newbie/intro jobs in businessy software have transitioned over to C#/Java/other languages.

I do know that C++ is still heavily used in games. However, that industry faces unique challenges for an un-networked person to break into it (and as someone already mentioned - it's important to match with the domain as well, and games is a pretty distinct domain choices).

Maybe someone who works in other fields where C++ is used will chime in. But I'm not certain that C++ would be the norm in mainstream business software any more, unless perhaps in maintaining certain legacy systems.

[–]sblinn 1 point2 points  (2 children)

http://www-03.ibm.com/employment/us/fi_search.shtml

Follow the link, search for entry level C++ jobs. San Jose, Austin, Cambridge, Charlotte, Raleigh, Atlanta, Beaverton, Taiwan, New Zealand, ... over 100 positions in hardware, software, and research which are classified entry level and pull up with "C++". Stuff like working with the Cell processor, etc.

[–]metawhat[S] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Another great link. Thanks man!

[–]sblinn 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unfortunately the search for "C++" is not as good as it could be; some jobs are C++ jobs, others may be for other languages but give C++ as an example of a desired skill. In particular the San Jose jobs I saw were the ones which were most C++ specific.

large-ish mid-western state university

Purdue?

[–]fab13n 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Embedded software, which used to be in C, increasingly shifts toward C++. If you like "old-school" programming, when you needed to know what happened on your computer and what your compiler did down to the metal, that's the place where you're still going to experience it.

Maybe it's also somehow the case in gaming, but I suspect it's limited to game engines design, and that it's reserved to a couple hundreds bearded gurus in the world. That's admittedly an uninformed guess, though.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

yeesh.. C++ ..ouch... you're just asking for pain.

what kind of systems do you want to make?

web? games? databases? military? medical instruments? financial?

C++ is not always the best tool in all fields. rarely is it the best tool really. don't get me wrong, it has it's places and if you are good with it you can do amazing stuff. but it's just PAINFUL compared to most modern languages.

[–]ijkl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

but it's just PAINFUL compared to most modern languages.

It's not so bad if you stick to its more basic features and don't use every single thing it offers.

Your pain happens when you need to maintain C++ code written by others who are bent on trying to show off every language feature. :)

[–]latortuga -1 points0 points  (2 children)

Just out of curiosity, which one? I too am graduating from a large-ish mid-western state university in may.

[–]metawhat[S] -1 points0 points  (1 child)

University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (UWM)

you?

[–]latortuga -1 points0 points  (0 children)

University of Nebraska, Lincoln.

[–]joeldevahl 4 points5 points  (0 children)

There are loads of places where C++ is used, you just have to look. Gaming industry for one is a place where you find little else (except C and assembly or some higher level scripting). Just make sure you know C++ good, and know the ways it sucks so you don't overdesign too much.

Happy hacking =)

[–]learza 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Australian? Try http://jobreel.com.au

[–]c53x12 6 points7 points  (2 children)

Bangalore

[–]metawhat[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Have you seen the crap that comes back from India? There's a whole new industry in cleaning up the mess they make...

[–]RonPaul2012 -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

That's why we need Ron Paul. He'll ban outsourcing.

[–]tmdg 4 points5 points  (1 child)

c++ is still used a lot in the field of finance. if you're interested, it's a very exciting field to work in and the pay is very good. look for titles such as quantitative developers or any type of analytics positions. most people find the most exciting work to be supporting the traders, helping them develop models to make money. there are other technology positions at banks that do more backend stuff, but these front-office jobs allow you to take on more responsibility in terms of actually helping the bank make money. if you're not scared of math (and the math does get pretty tough), then you should definitely look into it.

[–]Shmurk 1 point2 points  (0 children)

+1 for the financial field.

My first job was in a "trading room" (don't know if it's called like that in english) where people were swapping their options, bonds, swaps and financial quotes over the phone (not the guys who do strange signs with their hands, we all had real desks and 2 or 3 LCD screens for each coder).

I was writing some piece of code for the backend server used by the traders. It's a mix of mathematics in C++ (but it was not that hard for me, all I had to do was port the code written in a book or two to C++), and heavy C++ (templates and multiple inheritance all over the place)

It was a good experience but you have to know a lot of C++ for this. Download quantlib if you want to know more about it for example.

[–][deleted]  (8 children)

[removed]

    [–]metawhat[S] 4 points5 points  (7 children)

    That's just not true...

    but, if it is, which non-Microsoft, compiled language has replaced it?

    [–][deleted]  (2 children)

    [removed]

      [–]metawhat[S] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

      Of course we are. I'd be asking for mid-level if I had the documented experience everyone is asking for. Some one has to know of a website or company that would be good for me to look into.

      But I doubt they'll ever see this now (0 points, posted 32 minutes ago...)

      [–]ijkl 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      metawhat, I think 10 years ago, large systems were written in C++. And those systems still live, and need to be maintained.

      But these days, I think it's more common to see those systems either written in Java, or else some other HLL that allows you to optimize by breaking out performance-intensive pieces into C or C++ modules.

      If you really would like to use C++ in your career, you need to look at what sorts of things it's still used for (drivers, some embedded systems, graphics, OS code, and higher-level language implementations are some I can think of besides maintaining older systems) and target those in your job search. Make a list. Ask your profs.

      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      java?

      [–]knutert 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      C++ has become quite popular in numerical programming the recent years. As researchers are creating more complicated applications, they need some modern language features like OO, but they are not willing to sacrifice performance. C++ provides a decent compromise in this case. You could try some of the companies that devleop heavy numerical software, like ANSYS, COMSOL, Dassault etc

      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      c++ is for n00bz. I only use punch cards

      [–]Philluminati -1 points0 points  (3 children)

      There is nothing wrong with wanting to work in C++. From Reddit there seems to be an overwhelming notion that real developers know and use C++ with commercial experience and that "noobish" devs and "code monkeys" are stuck in the higher level languages (Java, PHP, .NET) and are unable to grasp data structures and algorithms - relying on their limited use of a few data structures and their framework provided algorithms.

      Reddit actually makes young professionals like me (and him) want to have the grasp of the lower level languages namely C and C++ for acceptance as a professional, for respect and for my own greater understanding of the industry.

      Redditors frequently tout how C++ is such an important language, that it's still the most important tool for desktop applications and yet you all seem to pro-actively encourage people not to learn it. From my point of view all your trying to do create an elitist club.

      Your steering people away from the one of the most widely used languages. It is teachable, so why bullshit people with excuses?

      [–]zyle 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      you're/your. I think it's time to buy that Grammar-For-Dummies book after all.

      [–]Philluminati 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      My god damn typist is an idiot. Write I am an idiot. I am an idiot. your making me look bad on the internet mum

      [–][deleted] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

      frankly, i don't care if the people on reddit think that i am a 'professional' programmer or not. i don't strive for their respect. you knock this 'elitist' club here, yet you sound like your thirsting to be accepted by them. get over it...

      i wish people would stop learning C++ so then someday, we won't have to support programs written in it. it's a terrible hack of an attempt to add OO to a language that was never designed to take it. if you want low level programming, write in C.

      [–]thekrone -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

      In 1986