Svetlana ShevchukC++ is one of the most popular programming languages in 2024. According to a 2023 HackerRank study, C++ is the fourth most popular language, after Java, Python, and SQL.
As a free-form, general-purpose programming language, C++ is an extended version of C. Thus, with C++, an engineer can develop operating systems, browsers, games, use it in DevOps workflow, etc.
The figure below shows that C++ is among the top three programming languages software developers prefer when they have multiple options.
The language is used by colossal companies like Adobe, Facebook, and Amazon.
The popularity and irreplaceability of the language have led to a huge demand for professional C++ engineers. Thus, if you are looking to hire a C++ developer, know that you are not the only one. Hiring a C++ professional has become more challenging in the current situation of the overheated IT job market. In the table below, we collected the present rates on C++ development, but the truth is that they can keep increasing under the rising demand for senior developers.
| In-house hiring in the US | Staff augmentation via YouTeam | Freelance contractor on Upwork | |
| Average monthly payment to Senior C++ Developer | $14,000 | $9,000 | $11,000 |
| Extra costs for the company | Taxes, bonuses, non-financial benefits, office rent, and support | YouTeam commission | Upwork commission |
| Hiring costs | HR costs, job promotional ads | YouTeam does candidate sourcing and assists with interviews for free | Managers’ time for candidate sourcing, screening, and interviewing |
Sources: Glassdoor, YouTeam, Upwork
This study analyzes parameters like the average salaries of C++ developers worldwide and innovative hiring models.
Table of Contents
Why Do Companies Need C++?
First released in 1985, C++ has since become one of the top 10 most popular programming languages, according to Redmonk.
The language is used in a wide variety of applications that require fast performance, including game development, operating systems, financial services, machine learning tools, and scientific research.
All major Adobe applications, such as Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign are developed in C++.
TensorFlow, an open-source software library for machine learning and artificial intelligence, uses C++ for server-side programming. The language has a large collection of libraries that provide complex computations for training machine learning models.
According to Wikipedia, C++ is also used for server-side coding in popular websites such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, and Bing.
What Is the Average Salary of C++ Developers Worldwide?
Before hiring a professional C++ developer for your company, you should first explore the market and learn certain parameters.
For example, one crucial parameter you should consider is the huge salary differences depending on the country of the C++ developer.
Average C++ Developer Salary in North and Latin America
First of all, it is crucial to keep in mind that all top-tier C++ engineers with years of experience earn an income at least twice as high as the average salaries worldwide.
As with most front-end and back-end engineers, C++ professionals based in the US have the highest average income worldwide. This occurs because of numerous variables, including the country’s base income, cost of living, and demand. More precisely, the US national average salary for C++ developers in 2024 is around $108K per year.
On the other hand, developers based in Latin American countries have a lower base income. In fact, countries located in Latin America have a much lower cost of living than the US. As a result, a C++ engineer in Mexico earns an average salary of $51K per year.
| Country | Junior C++ developer, $ | Middle C++ developer, $ | Senior C++ developer, $ |
| Mexico | $28,000 | $50,000 | $68,000 |
| Brazil | $33,000 | $40,000 | $70,000 |
| Costa Rica | $31,000 | $54,000 | $81,000 |
| Uruguay | $29,000 | $51,000 | $63,000 |
| Colombia | $17,000 | $21,000 | $43,000 |
Source: Glassdoor, Indeed, PayScale
Average C++ Programmer Salary in Europe
The same situation with wider pay gaps also applies to European countries. Like the US, Western Europe countries have some of the highest average salaries in the world. For example, C++ engineers in Germany earn around $69K per year. Likewise, the UK offers an average yearly salary of $69K.
Nevertheless, the situation is different when it comes to countries located in Eastern Europe. For instance, a programmer located in Bulgaria earns around $50K per year.
Similarly, a Ukrainian engineer earns an average salary of $41K. Again, keep in mind that a senior C++ engineer earns a few times more than the average salary.
| Country | Junior C++ developer, $ | Middle C++ developer, $ | Senior C++ developer, $ |
| The UK | $45,000 | $59,000 | $81,000 |
| Germany | $49,000 | $62,000 | $86,000 |
| Czech Republic | $25,000 | $56,000 | $85,000 |
| Poland | $26,000 | $52,000 | $72,000 |
| Ukraine | $22,000 | $42,000 | $54,000 |
| Hungary | $25,000 | $62,000 | $77,000 |
Source: Glassdoor, Indeed, PayScale
Average C++ Developer Salary in Africa and Asia
As with Latina American and Eastern European developers, the C++ engineers in Africa and Asia have lower average salaries than the US. An average C++ salary in Egypt is around $32K per year. Comparably, a person working as a C++ engineer in Bangalore, India, earns around $17K per year.
| Country | Junior C++ developer, $ | Middle C++ developer, $ | Senior C++ developer, $ |
| India | $6,000 | $12,000 | $29,000 |
| China | $28,000 | $41,000 | $67,000 |
| Philippines | $12,000 | $17,000 | $28,000 |
| South Africa | $23,000 | $44,000 | $88,000 |
| Egypt | $17,000 | $23,000 | $48,000 |
| Kenya | $15,000 | $28,000 | $41,000 |
Source: Glassdoor, Indeed, PayScale
How Can Knowing Average Salaries Benefit Your Hiring Process?
After analyzing global income disparities, you should use this information during your hiring process. Different hiring models can help you take advantage of these differences.
For example, you may decide to use a remote hiring model. According to research conducted by Wrike, working remotely has become extremely popular, which can be termed the future. However, what do global C++ salary disparities have to do with it?
If you want to hire a C++ developer but can’t afford a US software development team, you can hire C++ engineers remotely. Many new approaches, like staff augmentation, help you hire remotely from countries around the world.
Let’s dive deeper into the different team-extension models you can use nowadays.
Hiring C++ Developers: What Are the Different Hiring Options?
As already mentioned, numerous new hiring models help you adapt your cooperation with a software developer to suit your needs. There are different hiring options based on parameters like geography and type of engagement.
Likewise, by getting to know each one, you will be able to identify the one most suitable to your company’s desktop or app development needs. Since each hiring option has pros and cons, let’s explore them separately.
Hiring a C++ Developer: Solutions Based on Geography
If you want to hire a C++ engineer, you have three different hiring solutions influenced by geography: local talents, nearshore programmers, and offshore developers/dev teams.
Hiring Local Talent
Hiring local talent is the traditional hiring model, where you hire a C++ engineer for your company by searching in your local pool of talent. For this type of hiring, most companies prefer to find their candidates from online job boards like Glassdoor.com and Wellfound.
Although boards are an efficient way to seek local talent, it is not the only route. Your HR services and headhunting companies are also clever ways to find a high-quality C++ engineer locally. Additionally, local tech conferences and hackathons are also brilliant ideas to attract C++ developers.
Hiring Nearshore and Offshore Programmers
Thankfully, hiring locally isn’t the only option anymore. For example, the market also allows you to hire nearshore or offshore talent. By doing so, you are no longer limited to hiring a C++ developer from your local market. Although, how can you find a reliable engineer from unfamiliar geographical regions, and what is the best way to do it?
Finding a C++ developer with great reviews is the smartest way to ensure that the nearshore or offshore talent you hire is reliable. For this reason, most businesses check a development company’s reputation via online review platforms like G2 and Clutch. Those platforms allow you to find developers with the skill set you require.
If you are only interested in hiring nearshore developers, you can also host or join regional tech conferences or hackathons.
The best international C++ conferences include the following:
You can also check this curated list of C++ conferences held worldwide.
Hiring a C++ Programmer: Approaches Based on Engagement Type
Apart from the solutions you have based on geography, there are different types of engagement for you to choose from. Finding the most suitable engagement type for your upcoming C++ task is crucial. You have four options when it comes to selecting the best engagement type for your needs: in-house development, staff augmentation, freelancing, and outsourcing.
In-house Development
In-house development is a long-established engagement type. By hiring in-house C++ engineers, you create a permanent engagement contract for one or more candidates. Likewise, you add a professional C++ programmer to your in-house development team.
If you need to create a primary development team to work from your office, in-house development is the best solution. Searching in the local pool of talent via the solutions mentioned above is the best way to hire an in-house C++ engineer.
Although this is a reliable and safe approach, in-house development has specific cons. Firstly, hiring a top-tier C++ engineer locally isn’t easy or affordable.
By employing a permanent, in-house developer, you have to pay a monthly salary and all the financial and non-financial benefits that accompany it. As a result, this isn’t an ideal option for those who need help temporarily with C++ development tasks.
Thus, if you don’t require your engineer to be available locally, there are more suitable hiring models than in-house development.
Staff Augmentation
Unlike in-house development services, staff augmentation is a relatively new hiring type.
For instance, with staff augmentation, you don’t have to find and select the developers yourself. This approach allows you to find a development company that has already vetted top-tier developers.
Accordingly, this partner will find the best professionals for your project and allow you to host interviews.
For this reason, this is an excellent approach for those who want to hire a C++ engineer for a specific period. Staff augmentation helps you choose a top-tier C++ engineer who is (in most cases) located in another country and legally employed by another company.
Once you decide on the best candidate for your project, you can hire the developer as a full-time dev team member.
When it comes to development contractors, we recommend hiring via our YouTeam platform. YouTeam partners with numerous trusted dev shops that offer their engineering resources through our marketplace. Our vetted developers are professionals located in Latin America and Europe.
| Minimal Rate | Maximal Rate | Average Rate | |
| Junior C++ Developer | $20 | $50 | $33 |
| Middle C++ Developer | $35 | $77 | $43 |
| Senior C++ Developer | $35 | $240 | $55 |
Source: YouTeam
Browse 500+ Dev Teams Available for Hire
In a few words, staff augmentation is a brilliant alternative to local hiring. Thus, if you want one or more dedicated C++ developers to work on your project temporarily, staff augmentation is the best hiring option.
Freelancing
As with staff augmentation, hiring a freelancer allows you to hire a C++ developer temporarily. Freelancing is a great hiring option, ideal for handling minor features, fixing some C++ application development or web development bugs, etc.
Freelancing’s main benefit is that C++ developers are paid after the job is finished. Also, freelancing platforms like Toptal, Upwork, and Freelancer usually have extremely high competition. For this reason, this engagement type is the most cost-effective.
However, freelancing comes with some disadvantages. For example, freelancing is not the safest hiring model. Many companies complain about submission delays and project cancellations.
Therefore, freelancing is usually favored for short-term C++ development tasks and minor problem-solving.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is comparable to staff augmentation. Likewise, with outsourcing, you also choose a development contractor that will find you needed talent and help set up a team.
However, outsourcing is different from staff augmentation. Hiring through outsourcing allows you to hire a completely dedicated team of front-end and back-end developers, designers, and QA engineers.
In fact, with outsourcing, you also hire a manager to handle your project management and your dev team.
Thus, this is a brilliant option if you need a whole development team for a project and someone to help you with the project’s management. If you don’t want to get involved in your upcoming C++ project, this is the best way to go.
On the flip side, outsourcing development companies try to upsell more professionals than you need (like Junior developers or project managers). Thus, outsourcing has one common disadvantage—cost.
Comparing C++ Developers Skill Set: the US vs. Europe vs. Asia
As mentioned above, some startups and big companies are afraid to hire engineers from unfamiliar regions like Ukraine or Mexico. However, recent studies indicate that developers from those countries have similar (if not better) skill sets than engineers located in the US.
According to a HackerRank study, developers from the US ranked 28th across all development challenges. On the flip side, Ukrainian engineers ranked 11th with an impressive score (88.7%). Correspondingly, Ukraine has proved that it provides top-tier developers when it comes to computer science skills.
Although, this isn’t the only parameter you should consider when hiring a C++ programmer. English proficiency and time convenience are also crucial for your hiring process.
For this reason, we generated the table below to compare salary parameters between the US, Ukraine, and India.
| The US | Ukraine | India | |
| C++ Yearly Salary | $108K | $41K | $17K |
| Time Convenience | Perfect for the Americas. | Real-time collaboration with Western European countries and ½ day overlap with the US. | Big time differences between European countries and the US. Suitable for Australia. |
| English Proficiency | Native | Intermediate to High | Basic to High |
| Skills | Ranked in 28th place | Ranked in 11th place | Ranked in 31st place |
What Makes an Excellent C++ Developer: Essential Skills Overview
Experienced C++ programmers possess a wide range of technical skills and knowledge that enable them to develop scalable, high-performance applications and systems. Depending on the project requirements, these skills may include:
- Knowledge of data structures, algorithms, and software engineering principles
- Understanding of object-oriented programming concepts such as classes, inheritance, and polymorphism
- Thorough understanding of C++ code structure and standard libraries
- Know when to use references versus pointers, and understand how variables are passed to functions
- Proficiency in other high-level programming languages, such as C#, Python, and Java
- Knowledge of version control systems, such as Git, SVN, and Mercurial
- Experience building virtual environments
In addition, experienced C++ developers typically go beyond their skills and expand their programming knowledge. Engineers who seek opportunities to grow and learn tend to last longer in fast-paced environments.
Interviewing a C++ Developer: Must-Ask Questions
No matter which engagement type you choose, your company is responsible for determining whether or not to interview a candidate. If you want to ensure that you hire the best C++ programmer, experts recommend asking questions from each of two categories:
Hard skills: Verifying a developer’s hard skills is a crucial step. This is the most direct way to ensure they are perfect for your goals and needs. You can start by asking about their work experience. Then, you can ask relevant questions about the C++ programming language. Try asking general questions (i.e., C++ features and algorithms, C++ operating systems, online C++ compiler, etc.) and technical ones (Html and CSS functionality, data structures, debugging, SQL using C++, Agile for Embedded C++, etc.).
Alternatively, you can check this directory of more than 200 questions and answers for a C++ interview on GitHub.
Soft skills: Of course, verifying a candidate’s hard skills is only the first step. After verifying a candidate’s skill set, you should make sure they are a great cultural fit for your company. Don’t forget that you should always hire C++ developers who love their job and are good team players.
Make sure to check our list of questions for a soft-skills interview.
How to Assess C++ Developer Skills Using Code Testing Platforms
Online platforms for developer skills assessment help businesses determine which engineer best meets the specific requirements before moving candidates to subsequent, more in-depth interviewing stages. We selected five services that can help businesses identify skills beyond talent profiles and resumes.
HackerRank
With HackerRank, technical managers create role-specific online coding assessments and invite C++ developers to take the challenge. The skills screening platform automatically reviews, scores, and ranks candidates to define the best-fit engineers.
Woven
Woven technical assessments stand out as a human-powered evaluation process, distinguishing themselves from automated assessments. Each assessment, ranging from 90 to 120 minutes for candidates, is reviewed and scored by experienced engineers, offering a personalized and nuanced evaluation.
CodinGame
CodinGame uses gamification techniques to evaluate C++ developers’ creative thinking and problem-solving skills. This platform’s coding challenges and puzzles are predefined; however, companies can add their own questions to a screening campaign.
Adaface
This platform uses scenario-based questions to evaluate a candidate’s ability to write C++ programs, structure the code using Object-oriented programming principles, handle exceptions, and manage system memory. The platform creators claim that they have unique, non-Googleable questions—and if any questions have been leaked online, the test makers change them.
TestGorilla
TestGorilla’s assessments are created by subject matter professionals. The platform’s tests are designed for junior and intermediate C++ programmers and help evaluate a candidate’s ability to program entry-level algorithms, define their own data types, and perform string manipulations and type casts.
Where to Find C++ Developers?
Apart from general methods and hiring platforms that we discovered earlier, it makes total sense to look for C++ engineers in specialized listings, websites, and communities. Here is our selection:
- C++ Developers at YouTeam
- C++ Forum
- The C++ Alliance with a Slack community
- C++ Subreddit
- #include <C++> at Discord
- C++ Facebook community
- List of C++ groups by country
Why Is YouTeam the Best Partner to Help You Hire C++ Engineers?
Staff augmentation is the ideal hiring approach for many companies. Thus, if you need to hire a C++ developer via a flexible outstaffing plan temporarily, YouTeam is the best partner to team up with.
- Unlimited options: Our marketplace has access to 50,000 developers from Eastern Europe and Latina America. That allows you to hire top-tier engineers and dev teams quickly.
- Sourcing candidates: YouTeam needs only up to 48 hours to find the best matching C++ engineers for your company.
- Hire top-tier developers: Each of our vetted engineers went through the multi-stage hiring process by our partner agencies and additional validation by YouTeam. However, you have the final word regarding your staff augmentation via our platform. YouTeam allows you to set up and host interviews with as many developers as you need. At the same time, we encourage you not to hesitate to hire as soon as you interview a good developer. Senior developers receive a few offers at the same time, so you should secure your choice with an offer.
- No hidden costs for our clients: When you choose to hire a C++ developer through YouTeam, the sourcing and interview process is entirely free.
- Good reviews from previous clients: YouTeam clients fully trust the platform’s vetting process and choose to stay with YouTeam after trying our matching service.
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