Full transcript
0:00Okay guys, we're talking C++ engineers
0:02today. These guys build everything from
0:04a Tesla autopilot to PlayStation 5. But
0:07when it comes to the highest paying
0:09ones, those would be hedge fund trading
0:11roles that pay up to 800K. I recently
0:14had a client that needed 50 C++
0:17developers. And these jobs range between
0:20600 to 800K. So I thought, let's do a
0:22video on it and let's discuss exactly
0:24what [snorts] these jobs are and why
0:26they pay so much. So who am I? My name
0:29is Chris Schwank aka the tech jobber,
0:31host of the tech jobber podcast. Also
0:34have 17 years in the tech recruitment
0:36space and currently operate as a tech
0:38career coach for people as well. Okay,
0:40the myth that C++ is old and dead is
0:44totally wrong. In fact, these jobs are
0:46hotter than ever and more higher paying
0:49because they are quite frankly very
0:51difficult to get into and that
0:52difficulty creates great value. Some of
0:54these guys are making kind of
0:56professional athlete money just to be an
0:58individual tech contributor for 40 hours
1:01a week. So the fewer people that master
1:03it makes you much more valuable. Like I
1:06said recently I had a client that needed
1:0950 of these C++ developers. They're a
1:12hedge fund trading firm. Yeah. Now these
1:14jobs are super difficult to get into and
1:16because of that it creates great value.
1:18So less people are doing it and it's
1:21tougher to master. But if you are able
1:24to do that, then you're basically going
1:27to make professional athlete money.
1:28Obviously, this is not a career that you
1:30could just do a quick six- week boot
1:32camp, hop right in, and and make big
1:34money. It takes a long time to master
1:37these, and that's what we're going to
1:38get into today. So, what exactly are C++
1:41engineers? Well, the performance-based
1:43developers, they build systems where
1:45speed, efficiency, and hardware control
1:48are absolutely critical. And why C++
1:51dominates these critical systems is
1:53performance. When software needs to be
1:55blisteringly fast and control hardware
1:58at a micro level, C++ is the answer.
2:01It's basically like a Formula 1 car
2:03versus a family minivan. So you're using
2:05C++ now. You just don't know it.
2:08Basically, your operating system,
2:09Windows, Mac, Linux, your browsers,
2:12Chrome, Firefox, your Google searches,
2:15Amazon's ecom platform. Massive chunks
2:18of these are all C++. Okay, some key
2:21definitions there are low latency
2:23programming. That's writing code that
2:25executes as fast as physically possible
2:28measured in microsconds and nanconds.
2:31And then you have performance
2:32optimization. That's where every nancond
2:35counts. Basically like the photo finish
2:37of a horse race, but the prize is
2:39millions. So some real world examples
2:42across multiple industries. you have uh
2:45Tesla's autopilot that's C++ processes
2:48and the sensor data and all the cameras
2:51and they need it in milliseconds because
2:53any delay could cause an accident. So
2:56literally life or death code. Then like
2:58PlayStation 5 or any graphics engine,
3:01the C++ renders mind-blowing 3D graphics
3:04at 60 frames per second. So using a
3:08slower language would be like watching a
3:09flip book and half the page is missing.
3:12hedge fund trading systems as well.
3:14That's where I've seen like I said those
3:16800k total comp roles. So C++ executes
3:19stock trades in under 100 micros
3:21secondsonds because one microcond faster
3:23than the competitors generates millions
3:25in daily profit. So it really comes down
3:27to supply and demand. That's why these
3:30pay so much. So why hedge funds pay 800k
3:34basically comes down to the economics
3:36and it's a direct revenue generation and
3:39the trading platforms that's 10
3:40microsconds faster can capture price
3:43differences before your competitors
3:45generating 50 to 100 million annually.
3:48So that 800k is kind of a bargain for
3:50these guys. So when it comes to
3:52competitive advantage those microsconds
3:54can equal millions for these guys. There
3:57also is just flat out a scarcity of
3:59talent. There's only a few hundred
4:01engineers in the world that can write
4:03code at this amazing performance level.
4:05You talk about the cost benefit. Paying
4:07one of these engineers 800k to build a
4:09system that could potentially generate
4:11nine figures in profit is an incredible
4:14ROI. So, it's a no-brainer for these
4:15guys. And they're all wanted by all the
4:17top hedge funds and all the top
4:19companies on the planet. And that
4:22creates an amazing demand. And we know
4:24how supply and demand works. That's why
4:25they're making the big money. So when it
4:26comes to daily activities, they are
4:29writing extreme performance C++ where
4:31every CPU cycle is optimized. They're
4:34also profiling code at the nancond
4:36level. Think of like a mechanic hooking
4:38up a car to diagnostic computer to find
4:41the exact problem. They're also working
4:43with hardware engineers on custom
4:45network cards and server optimization.
4:48Like I said, everything is about
4:49performance with these guys. When it
4:51comes to gaming and automotive systems,
4:54they're basically building the rendering
4:56engines for the gaming systems, the
4:58physics simulations and for the
5:01automotive. It's the real-time safety
5:03systems and again that's life or death
5:05and that's millions in lawsuits that
5:07they're hopefully avoiding. So bigger
5:09picture is C++ is the invisible engine,
5:12the loadbearing walls of our digital
5:15world. So it's definitely not dead. It's
5:17the foundation that powers basically the
5:19most demanding high performance corners
5:21of the tech world. Okay, so let's talk
5:23about everyone's favorite topic, money.
5:25So why I'm focusing on the hedge fund
5:27numbers is from personal experience.
5:29Like I said, I have one client that is
5:30hiring 50 of these guys at 600 to 800
5:33total comp at the high end. Probably go
5:35even higher for the right person. So
5:38pretty much money is not an object
5:40realistically for these people if you
5:41can find the right person. But again,
5:43this 6 to800K package is not a unicorn.
5:47There are plenty of companies that are
5:48paying this much for these guys. Like I
5:50said, between the scarcity and the ROI
5:53delivered because they're directly
5:55generating the revenue or like I said,
5:56in some cases saving lives. So, it's a
5:59direct impact on the bottom line. And
6:01the closer you get to that bottom line,
6:02the more money you make. So, this is
6:04easily from what I've seen the highest
6:06paid path in software engineering. And
6:09as far as an individual contributor, you
6:11know, obviously very high level
6:13sea-level executives are making, you
6:15know, 6-800K and more with the bonus and
6:19stock options, stuff like that. But for
6:21an individual contributor, it's pretty
6:23much unheard of. Obviously, some AI
6:25people are at that level, but beyond
6:28that, it's it's really just these guys.
6:30So when it comes to salary ranges, kind
6:32of like an entry-level quant, as they
6:35call them, quant developers, they're
6:36going to be at the 150 to 200k base
6:39salary. And again, that's kind of for
6:41other careers, that's as much as some of
6:43the VPs make. And plus, you're going to
6:45add a 50 to 100K bonus on top of that.
6:47Midle, that's where you're two to 300K
6:50and then tack on another 100 to 200K
6:52bonus on top. And the senior level, this
6:55is where it gets big. So you're talking
6:573 to 400K plus 2 to 400K bonus, hence
7:01the 6 to800K total comps. When it comes
7:04to principal leads, this is even more.
7:06Like now we're talking 4 to 500K base
7:09and another 3 to 500K bonus on top of
7:12that. But the elite of the elite are
7:14signing even more than like a lot of
7:16professional athletes. They're one to
7:18two million dollar packages um for the
7:20right company. Like I said, these
7:21numbers don't just come out of thin air.
7:23Uh the reason they're getting this is
7:24because of their impact and the ability
7:27to generate an extra 50 to up to $200
7:30million in annual revenue for some of
7:32these trading firms. So I mean these
7:34guys are really invaluable when it comes
7:36to working on the speed of these trades.
7:38And you know then you talk about the
7:40competition. You have the richest
7:41companies on the planet competing for a
7:43small number of resources. That's why
7:46the salaries keep rising and rising. So,
7:48I mean, there's probably 500 engineers
7:50worldwide that can do this at the
7:52highest of high levels. And again, you
7:54know, I keep using the professional
7:55athlete example. That's because I mean,
7:57you think about how many people are in
7:58the NBA, about 5 to 600 people. So, you
8:01talk about a small pool of people that
8:03can do a job, that's why they're making
8:05really big money in the millions. Okay.
8:07So, let's compare these salaries kind of
8:10across sectors. Yeah. You know, Fang
8:13pays obviously the most in most cases.
8:15Uh, not in these cases. you know, you
8:17could top around around 2 to 350K total
8:19comp. And uh the gaming studios, they're
8:22a bit lower than that, maybe 2 to 250
8:25total comp. Then you have aerospace,
8:28also a big user of C++. Think about
8:30missile systems. Those have to be very
8:32fast. That's where these guys come in.
8:34That's 140 to maybe 220K total comp.
8:37Then you have the automotive business.
8:38Tesla, Whimo, that's 180 to maybe 270
8:42total comp. But like I said, the hedge
8:44funds, those are paying the big ones.
8:46The performance bonuses that are tied
8:48directly to how much money your code
8:50makes. And exceptional years can double
8:52your comp. So you have a 3 to 500k base
8:56salary and then you have a killer year
8:58and the firm kills it as well, then
9:01maybe you're looking at a million
9:02dollars. These are amazing careers, but
9:04again, they're not easy. They're not a
9:06six-week boot camp and dive right in. So
9:09let's talk about the types of different
9:11C++ roles. Again, you have the quant or
9:14quantitative developer. Those are the
9:16hedge fund jobs. Those are high
9:17frequency trading systems. Ultra low
9:19latency execution. And again, those are
9:22the highest paid. We have the game
9:23engine developer such as the Unreal
9:25Engine, the Unity engine, also
9:28proprietary engines that are based on
9:31each different game. Basically building
9:33the tech behind billions in some of
9:35these games revenue. Obviously, you look
9:37at something like the Grand Theft Auto
9:38series that makes billions per game. So
9:41another thing that is going to be very
9:43high paid as well. Then we have like I
9:45said autonomous vehicle engineers. Uh
9:48they're again they're using C++ on
9:50Tesla, Whimo, cruise control,
9:52self-driving systems and obviously we're
9:55going to see the demand for these just
9:57purely increase in the next few years as
9:59well. Another career could be the
10:00embedded systems engineer. That's like
10:02IoT devices, automated ECUs, and we're
10:06going to see this growing a lot as well.
10:08The robotics engines too. I mean really
10:10if you can get these skills your options
10:13are pretty much going to be unlimited
10:15with all of the new things that are
10:16coming out. Okay, so if you heard enough
10:18and you want to get into these, let's
10:20talk about the reality of the
10:22difficulty. So C++ is basically like
10:25driving a manual transmission versus
10:27Python is an automatic transmission.
10:30Yes, it is harder to learn, but once you
10:32master it, you have far more control. So
10:34the difficulty isn't a bug. It's
10:36actually a feature that creates a
10:38barrier to entry, making you far more
10:41valuable to these companies. So, the
10:43foundation, you obviously need a rock
10:46solid computer science fundamentals. You
10:48need a compsside degree, potentially
10:49even a PhD. I've seen a lot of jobs
10:51require that. You need experience with
10:53data structures and algorithms. That's
10:55pretty much non-negotiable for the high
10:57performance C++ roles. And you really
11:00need to understand how computers
11:01actually work at a hardware level, not
11:03just at the coding level. So to master
11:05the language itself beyond just the
11:07basic syntax, you also need memory
11:09management, you will need
11:11multi-threading and you will need
11:13profiling tools. That's basically like
11:16mechanics diagnostic computer finding
11:18the exact parts causing problems. Now
11:20for these hedge fund roles that I've
11:21talked a lot about on this video, you're
11:24going to need a top tier computer
11:25science program. We're talking MIT,
11:27Stanford, kind of on that level and or
11:30just unbelievable experiential or
11:33unbelievable self-taught with a proven
11:36track record. Also, an amazing way in is
11:39internships at the top trading firms or
11:41fan companies. That's a great way to
11:44kind of set yourself apart and obviously
11:46get a great into those companies for
11:47when you graduate. But one of the most
11:49important things obviously like a lot of
11:50these jobs is you have to build real
11:52projects. So get on your GitHub and
11:55share your code. That's more important
11:57than any certificates you could get and
11:59it really show it's going to set
12:00yourself apart basically in the
12:02interview. Basically, you want to stop
12:03endless tutorials and learning. You're
12:05going to want to create working
12:06projects. And if you want to get into
12:08the gaming sector, if that's something
12:09you're interested in, then you're going
12:11to want to build a simple kind of 3D
12:13rendering or build a simple physics
12:15engine. Show that you could do it and
12:16show you've done it on your own. some of
12:18these finance roles, you're going to
12:20want to code a trading strategy
12:22simulator and actually bring that type
12:24of stuff to the interview because that
12:25will really set you apart. Also, a great
12:27way is to contribute to open- source C++
12:30projects and get your code actually
12:32reviewed by professionals. Okay, so the
12:34essential skills here obviously you need
12:36the expert level C++ that's templates,
12:39metarogramming, memory management, all
12:41that good stuff. You can need computer
12:43architecture and GPU caching. You're
12:45going to need network programming and
12:47low latency systems. You're going to
12:49need multi-threading and lock free
12:51programming. And you're going to need
12:52Linux kernel knowledge, but really when
12:54you go to apply and interview, make sure
12:57you have those portfolios ready. So your
13:00high performance trading simulators,
13:02your game engines, your low latency
13:04network tools, and obviously the
13:06contributions to your GitHub or stuff
13:08like Quant Live or similar projects. All
13:11right, let's talk about who should
13:13consider these. Obviously, you love
13:15understanding how things actually work
13:16under the hood because that's where
13:18you're going to be operating. You're
13:19willing to take the harder path. It's
13:21not going to be the quick fix. It's not
13:22going to be the sixe boot camp. It's
13:24going to be a long path to learn this
13:26stuff and master it, but once you do,
13:29obviously, you're going to be making the
13:30big bucks. If you're a patient problem
13:32solver who digs deep into complex
13:35systems and you're fascinated by the
13:37performance optimization and making
13:39things more efficient, because that's
13:41really what they're paying you to do.
13:42Basically, if you're not scared away
13:44from the difficulty of this field, it
13:46actually does work in your favor. You
13:48know, everyone's looking to get a quick
13:50fix, uh, get a four-year degree, make
13:53100K, make 120K quickly. This is not
13:56really that. It's going to take a lot of
13:58work, but again, in the long run, the
14:01rewards are really insane. Okay, so who
14:04shouldn't consider this? Well, anyone
14:05who prefers kind of a quick fix. If you
14:07want an easy route in tech, this isn't
14:09it. Because these companies are paying
14:10you that much because they expect big
14:12results. So, looking for something easy,
14:15you don't want to get in the weeds for
14:16complexity, you want a more laid-back
14:18career, then this definitely is not for
14:21you. So, when it comes to career growth,
14:23couple different paths. There's not too
14:24much bouncing around in these because
14:26they do pay so much just as individual
14:28contributors. You have the quant
14:30developer, the senior quant that's three
14:33to 500k and then the lead principal like
14:35we said 500 to 800k and then when it
14:38comes to maybe a head of trading systems
14:40you could be over to one and a half
14:42million dollars. So really insane insane
14:45money. Some people say don't get into
14:47this for the money. I never say that. So
14:49if you want to do some hard stuff and
14:51make big money there you go. Also, some
14:53firms you can break in as a quant
14:55researcher and then become a desk quant
14:59and portfolio manager with multi-million
15:02dollar packages. Once again, top
15:04performers are $1 million packages that
15:06are not uncommon at these elite firms.
15:09And once again, the reason for these
15:10massive comp deals, it's basically the
15:12direct revenue generation. Your code
15:14makes money for these companies every
15:16day, and they will pay big money to keep
15:18you there or steal you from their
15:21competitors. It's also profit sharing in
15:22a lot of these places and you will
15:25obviously benefit greatly from that.
15:27Okay, so in closing once again, while
15:29C++ is old, it is certainly not dead, it
15:32is still the foundation of basically our
15:35entire digital world. All the operating
15:37systems, game engines, all Wall Street
15:40operates with these C++ developers. Once
15:43again, the barrier to entry that is your
15:46greatest friend if you're willing to
15:48kind of go through it because there's
15:50less competition and more demand and way
15:53more job security and way more pay. So
15:57yeah, I mean it's kind of going in the
15:58opposite direction of probably the last
16:00five years. Everyone wants a quick fix
16:02in tech. This isn't it. But again,
16:04you're going to be making way more than
16:05all those guys if you are willing to
16:07kind of master these skills. Basically a
16:10career built on substance, not hype.
16:12It's a rockolid foundation with quite
16:15frankly the most massive financial
16:17payoff that you're going to find in
16:18software engineering. Okay. And then for
16:20anyone in tech that is interested in
16:22getting a job like this, I'm actually
16:24working with a number of C++ developers
16:26helping them get hired. I basically have
16:28a tech career accelerator. Basically run
16:30all of your sales funnels and your
16:32outreach for you so you can get in front
16:34of the right people and get hired.
16:36Basically, the biggest nightmare people
16:38have right now is they're in a pile of
16:40résumés and they can't get out. So, my
16:42goal is to get you in front of the right
16:44people so they pluck you out of that
16:45pile and get you to the top of the list.
16:47If you have any interest, I'm going to
16:49have the link below. Let's set up a call
16:51and uh we'll see if it's right for you.
16:53And uh we'll catch you guys next time.