I've been coding heavily in C++ for now over 2 decades, and when I interview someone I typically can get a pretty decent picture of within a general 3 - 5 year

I've been coding heavily in C++ for now over 2 decades, and when I interview someone I typically can get a pretty decent picture of within a general 3 - 5 year range of how long they've been coding based on the various details they gave when answering the questions about the language. And yes, of course someone could have 10 years experience, or the same experience for 10 years and never grow, but in general I found I am pretty spot on. So I agree, 1 year doesn’t even begin to cut it. You need more than book knowledge, you need the experience of watching your masterpiece crumble under its own weight (sometimes several times) or have the joy of hunting some obscure bug because you failed to recognize the trap you had set for yourself. I certainly wouldn't want to scare anyone off from C++, because personally I find the empowerment is worth the pain. It just takes time to learn what to avoid.