If you work on low-level software, you can and will use tools like VTune and cachegrind to understand where the performance bottlenecks are for your code. If y

If you work on low-level software, you can and will use tools like VTune and cachegrind to understand where the performance bottlenecks are for your code. If you are working with a lot of people who tell you not to optimize, you're probably working on high-level software where the focus is on getting it out the door as fast as possible. Try working for a company like Intel or NVidia. You'll write plenty of assembly language there if you want. There's also things like compilers, virtual machines, and storage software.