Having “spent some time in the job market lately”, the salaries seem astronomical if you’re C++ and fintech/HFT. I think some funny business is going on with those listings though…
Kinda average in game development and sadly pretty low in embedded systems.
All way less common than your average Python position, but probably way more interesting.
I'm not sure if you're in this field specifically, but since you mentioned it I'll ask. Is it your impression that fintech and HFT shops would possibly start to transition to Rust?
I've always heard that they're currently mostly using C++ (and sometimes Java). But I'm not sure how dogmatic or change-averse they are on average.
If you are strong in C++ you can get pretty good jobs in robotics, trading, game engines.
But TBH at that point it might be more interesting to learn Rust that is on the rise across the industry.
Nobody (except hobbyists and maybe an indie or two) is using Rust for game development, and it's unlikely they ever will. The cost of switching far outweighs any benefits in an industry where memory safety is not critical.
Treyarch gave a GDC talk in 2019 that they were using it for tooling, Embark hasn't shipped a game in Rust yet but is larger than an indie. You are absolutely right that it is small right now, but "unlikely they ever will" is a more open question, IMHO.
Memory safety is absolutely important in certain kinds of games. At least, as a player, I want games to not be exploited for cheats, and I don't want progress lost when a game crashes due to memory issues.
All that said, I would agree that if you want a job in games, learning C++ is a better idea than Rust right now.
