Ask HN: A career in desktop (C++) or web app development-which would you choose?

1 points by the_duck 3 years ago | 7 comments

I've just graduated and am job hunting. I've focused my search on web dev roles, yet much to my surprise recruiters are contacting me more often about desktop development jobs (C++). This surprises me as I'm a competent web developer but have only minimal C++ experience. I'm currently interviewing for both C++ and web dev roles at different companies. I may need to choose between these two areas soon, and this decision feels consequential as it may determine the direction of my career. I'm seeking advice about which path to take. Which would you choose? Which has the brightest future in 2022?

MarkMarine 3 years ago |

That depends, if you want to specialize on one aspect and become an expert, or become more of a generalist who can do many things.

If you want to go down one avenue, specialize and really go deep, then I would try to structure my entire career around this, taking less money even, if it gets you the expertise and growth you need. It can be quite lucrative, but being an expert also means marketing your skills, presenting, writing about it, etc. The only downside I can see in this is your chosen area of expertise could go out of style and you might have 10 years of experience in someone the industry doesn't do anymore.

If you want to be more of a generalist, or even just want a good first job, taking a desktop development job in C++ would be good. I would prioritize a company that has some kind of formal or informal mentorship program, and as much as it kills me to say it, a company who's name will look good on your resume.

Personally, I pick the desktop job if you can get that with a company with name recognition, and a strong program of developing junior engineers. You can always figure out what to become an expert in later if you want to go down that path.

ThrowawayR2 3 years ago |

Personally, I would recommend taking the C++ role to broaden your abilities. Being able to do both C++ and webdev means that you have more options later in your career when you want to switch jobs (very valuable during an economic downturn) and are, depending on the employer, potentially more valuable to them for being able to do both types of work when necessary.

You can always fall back to being a web developer later if you decide that isn't for you since web dev jobs are both extremely common with demand still growing and often have a lower bar to entry, as demonstrated by the success of bootcamp graduates and the large contingent of HNers trumpeting that a CS education hasn't been useful to them.

Archelaos 3 years ago |

All else being equal, I tend to recommend the C++ job, because it seems you can learn more there. At the beginning of your career it might be better to broaden your knowledge, instead of refining the few things you already know.

I do not think that the decision you make now will necessarily have a decisive impact on your career. You may switch again for your next job, if you feel like it. It is not unlikely that in a few years you will be working in a field that you are not even thinking about today.

didgetmaster 3 years ago |

This surprises me. As a C++ developer myself, I see fewer and fewer jobs that seem to focus on this skill. Everything seems to revolve around web development and cloud integration these days. I am not looking for anything right now, but I occasionally browse the job sites looking to see what employers are currently focusing on.

smr88 3 years ago |

@op Could you tell more about the desktop C++ job? Which industry? What does that software which they write? etc.

Thanks for the information.

the_duck 3 years ago | |

The C++ jobs I've been approached about are in the music and gaming industries. Both jobs are audio-related. I have a strong background in audio signal analysis and processing, despite my minimal C++ chops.

smr88 3 years ago | | |

Sounds cool. I personally would take the C++ job because I have also some background in image and signal processing. Therefore the topic itself is more interesting than the tool, in this case C++, for implementation. Even if they use Rust I would take the job.