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Yeah, the guy is nuts or something if he thinks that starting out in software engineering will be on par with his current situation.

Also he's assuming that the "top software firms" will even want him.

Interesting.

It just proves you can take these skills and translate them into anything else. But the HR drones don't see it that way.

Jo, it's a cultural thing. Plus ageism.

C++ is still valid, so why doesn't it give you an edge?

Didn't I make it clear? Nobody uses it. At least nobody outside places in coastal or tech belt areas.

In the case of C++, in order:

- Nobody at the interviewing end is smart enough to appreciate C++ skills. They may genuinely believe that HTML is "harder".
- They may be threatened by the knowledge of something they don't know.
- They may believe that C++ is "too old" to be relevant.
- They often think I'm bullshitting about my skills.

As for the rest of it, you nailed it, so use Occam's Razor to figure out the why! This is NOT a profession. It's an occupation of elitist kids who call most of the shots.

Also, in the specific case of C++ - the language has mutated well beyond what I used in the mid 20-oughts. Today C++ is a problematic language that is very hard to use for implementation. Complex and easily broken new language constructs are REQUIRED to be known by most shops that use C++. I stopped learning them because there was no need.

"Plain" C++ without recent new keywords, templates, smart pointers, etc is still quite useful, but nobody will hire anyone who doesn't have the little-needed current layer of garbage.

In short, my C++ skills are dated and unmarketable, even though I have the abstractions (the hardest part) down cold.

If developers need to know so many different things, why hire an enthusiastic young person without the experience or ability?  I was never a coder or developer so maybe that's different than working in networking, but I never lost my enthusiasm for the work.

C++ is still valid, so why doesn't it give you an edge?  Lack of enthusiasm?  What if you were enthusiastic and experienced?  You should be golden, IMO.

I understand the realities of the IT field today, but because we didn't protect the profession like say Accountants did our profession was bastardized.  Accountants certifications are worth something for life, IT certs are worth nothing after the next new thing comes out.  Accountants maintain their CLE credits every year with classes, IT professionals have classes to maintain their knowledge and get nothing for it.

Why bother with a profession that throws you out the door when you get older?  Accounting jobs have to deal with all the new laws every year, healthcare jobs embrace so many changes too and yet, those professions value their employees and give them opportunities to update their knowledge.  In IT, they lay you off and get an "enthusiastic" young person.

If IT was treated as a profession you could be a C++ certified person today and still relevant, much like an EA (enrolled agent) in the tax accounting field is relevant for as long as they hold that certification.

C++ is used by SpaceX, so its not passe yet.

That's an interesting perspective on things, Gorn. Refreshingly so.