Tips for Combatting the Lack of Viable C/C++ Developers
Although a lot has changed in the world over the past year, something that has remained steady is the necessity for skilled software development labor in technology companies. Accompanying constant advancement around technology in the workplace, for consumers and students alike, has been a shift in focus in education for STEM graduates who pursue futures in the technical industry.
Today more students are pursuing cloud-based technology. This has decreased the number of students entering the workforce that are familiar with C/C++ programming and, thus, has made it increasingly hard to fill these positions with proficient developers. Because today’s programming languages have been deemed easier to use, C/C++ has seen a decreasing number of users fluent with the program, leaving technical recruiting efforts, like those in IoT, with a lack of talent to choose from.
Radford University in Virginia, known for their excellence in technological teachings, is a great example of this in action. It has strayed away from their teaching of C/C++. According to their professors, C/C++ is “a particularly poor choice of a first language to learn” mostly due to its requirements for additional detailed knowledge of computer memory systems. This has caused schools to shift their focus towards teaching STEM students what they deem “high-level programming”, which include programming languages such as Java and Python. Since C/C++ requires a higher understanding of programming in order to become proficient, professors have sought other programs to help teach their students the basics. This is short sighted.
For IoT companies, C/C++ is still a very important skill set. By the very nature of what IoT companies do - connecting hardware and software - this programming language is essential. And, as a result of the imbalance between the world of education and the job market for IoT professionals, a lack of talent with programming efficiency now exists that can impact the success of IoT companies. In fact, a recent survey by Code.org found that there are only 71,226 computer science graduates to fulfill a staggering 433,116 programming jobs available nationwide.
In order to combat this talent shortage, companies must:
Become better at understanding developer and programmer demographics and preferences
Make job descriptions and company perks as desirable as possible
Improve their sourcing skills in order to identify and invite new talent
Create a seamless experience for candidates that results in a high win rate for recruiters and hiring managers
Hire talent specialists that improve knowledge of the job market and methods to better recruit in this environment
At BrightHire, our focus is to counteract the shift away from important programming languages like C/C++, by enabling the successful recruiting and hiring of IoT professionals, from executives to engineers and project managers, at scale. We do this by leveraging our deeply specialized talent pool of active candidates and a proprietary success model to guarantee placement success. To learn more about our talent acquisition process and how we can help your company, contact us here.
