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I'm in a similar situation (early 30's, 10+ years of development experience) and also left a previous job to start a business that didn't work out and just came

by BSousa 13y ago

I'm in a similar situation (early 30's, 10+ years of development experience) and also left a previous job to start a business that didn't work out and just came back to work at a 'normal' job. There is a good demand for C++ programmers in financial hubs. In Europe, this is London. I see 20+ jobs being posted every week for senior C++ developers. I'm guessing Wall Street will have similar requirements. Game development is also an option, but at your age/experience, I don't recommend that industry. Of course there are other companies that require C++, my last job was making a portable (Mac, Linux, Windows, iOS and Android) music streaming library with custom DRM. You will find these 'odd' jobs with C++ requirements less frequently but can be a good option. So, that's C++. Now about focusing on something else. It really depends on your goals/life. If you prefer a startup type company, then yes, node.js/ruby/Python are your best bets to get a job at those (doesn't mean Haskell or Scala won't get you a job) but if you prefer a more enterprise company (which there is nothing wrong, I do, since I have a small boy at home and really value the work/life balance I get) you should probably focus on either Java or C#. There are tons of jobs around for these technologies (in Europe, C# seems more in demand than Java, no idea on your location). If you want, you can also always learn Obj-C or Java(Android). Mobile developers seem to be in hot demand right now and it can be something completely different from what you are used to do (which can be a good or bad thing depending on how you feel about learning) Technologies aside, if your 10 years experience really brought you to Senior level (I've met folks that seemed to have just repeated the same year 10 times) I don't think you will have a problem finding a Senior role in whatever tech you choose. I started with C, moved to C++, then C#, Ruby/Rails, Obj-C. Even though I don't have 10 years experience with each of those, I easily found a job for senior developer (actually, I got a few interviews and got offers from all, from Sony to a big financial firm in London and small start upsas well.) If you have any questions or just want to chat about your situation, shoot me an email (email on profile).

peacemaker 13y ago
Yes I've seen quite a high demand for C++ guys in New York and Chicago as well as other places. That's really the heart of my question - should I stick to that or move into the newer technologies you mentioned like node.js/python? I have learned a good amount of both though no real work experience in them. Also you mention games, well I worked in the games industry for 4 years when I was younger! Did my time, enjoyed it, but won't go back now :) I am completely unsuited to large enterprises. I started out my career that way and hated it. Recently went back to a large corporation job and only lasted 6 weeks before I had to quit. I guess my original post wasn't so clear either. I have no problem getting requests for interviews and the like, get loads every day. My issue is making the choice of where to focus my career. Do I get back into C++ to earn some good money doing something I already know? Do I truly commit to new web tech and join a smaller startup? Or something different like freelance while working on (yet another) business? I'm tired of trying to make this choice because there are so many pros and cons for each! I understand no-one can do it for me but it's nice to get other peoples views. Thanks again.

by BSousa 13y ago

peacemaker 13y ago

Yes I've seen quite a high demand for C++ guys in New York and Chicago as well as other places. That's really the heart of my question - should I stick to that or move into the newer technologies you mentioned like node.js/python? I have learned a good amount of both though no real work experience in them. Also you mention games, well I worked in the games industry for 4 years when I was younger! Did my time, enjoyed it, but won't go back now :) I am completely unsuited to large enterprises. I started out my career that way and hated it. Recently went back to a large corporation job and only lasted 6 weeks before I had to quit. I guess my original post wasn't so clear either. I have no problem getting requests for interviews and the like, get loads every day. My issue is making the choice of where to focus my career. Do I get back into C++ to earn some good money doing something I already know? Do I truly commit to new web tech and join a smaller startup? Or something different like freelance while working on (yet another) business? I'm tired of trying to make this choice because there are so many pros and cons for each! I understand no-one can do it for me but it's nice to get other peoples views. Thanks again.