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Is there a reason you don’t think a good Java/C# developer willing to learn couldn’t learn C/C++. Especially with LLMs, I feel like which language(s) a develope
by cebert 3y ago
Is there a reason you don’t think a good Java/C# developer willing to learn couldn’t learn C/C++. Especially with LLMs, I feel like which language(s) a developer is currently comfortable with is less of an issue.
I previously had no Python experience, but know how to code well in C# and JavaScript. Using a LLM, I was able to quickly get up to speed writing DevOps Python scripts because I understood basic programming concepts and terms.
- JohnFen 3y agoNo reason at all, and we don't rule out applicants because of language. But Java/etc programmers have a strong tendency to be specialized in a particular sort of programming that we don't do, and get very weak when they're not doing that. They need more training that we can afford in order to come up to speed. But we absolutely interview the ones who seem like they'd be able to come up to speed. The pickings seem a bit slim, though. We also aren't in SV, Seattle, or any of the other hot places people want to be. That's why I think the problem is more the office requirement than anything else. The positions also aren't ML positions (we do use ML, but those positions are already well-covered.)
- UncleOxidant 3y agoWhat general geographic area are you in?
- JohnFen 3y agoThe Pacific Northwest. Another aspect: we aren't a pure computer tech company. We manufacture industrial equipment that uses a lot of tech. So I know that it wouldn't even occur to a lot of devs to apply. That's why one of the pieces of advice I give to devs looking for work is to not restrict yourself to the obvious software houses. All sorts of types of businesses hire devs, and lots of them are doing cutting-edge, very interesting work.
- throwaway5959 3y agoWe ran into the same problem with Scala. I love the language but only about half the people we hired could pick it up (or were willing to put in the time to do so). Oh well, Python it is.
- UncleOxidant 3y agoI feel like with a lot of languages this is true - it's pretty easy to pick up Python if you know Ruby (and vice-versa) for example. But with C++... there's just so much complexity now and still so many footguns. Hiring C++ devs familiar with modern C++ (C++11 and beyond) is probably not easy. I've done a good bit of C++ in the past (prior to C++11) and I've done a bit of modern C++, but when a job ad lists C++17+ I'm really hesitant to apply. It's a whole different beast than it was 15 years ago.
- JohnFen 3y ago> when a job ad lists C++17+ I'm really hesitant to apply. While I've actively worked in many languages, C++ has been the bulk of my experience. And I am the same way. I can certainly work with C++17+, but I have learned that I dislike it strongly enough that I don't consider such jobs at all.
- UncleOxidant 3y agoI like some aspects of C++17+ - the addition of functional programming, for example. But the standard library is now huge (more huge than before). I follow a C++ programming substack that puts out a daily dose of modern C++ and tbh it's just overwhelming after a while - how is anyone supposed to remember all of that?
- sys_64738 3y agoIt's because it's likely a HW embedded position so web language people don't have a grasp of the fundamentals and low level experience.