Python or C++ for quant jobs?

The split in our data

Python is the most frequently named technology across the quant vacancies we track. C++ appears less often overall but concentrates sharply in trading systems, execution and low-latency engineering. Our skills index publishes the current counts per role with the sample sizes attached.

How deep you need to go

Python. Beyond syntax: numerical libraries, vectorised thinking, reproducible environments, testing, and enough profiling to know when your research loop is slow for a stupid reason.

C++. Modern standards, memory model, cache behaviour, templates without cargo cult, and concurrency. Interviewers in this area probe fundamentals, not framework knowledge.

The pragmatic order

If you are starting from nothing, Python gets you research-capable fastest and is enough to build the portfolio project that gets you interviews. Add C++ once you know whether you want to sit near the execution path.

What else shows up

SQL appears constantly and is undervalued by candidates. Linux, git and containerisation are assumed rather than advertised. Rust appears occasionally and is not yet a requirement anywhere in our dataset at meaningful volume.

Check the live skill counts before you commit six months to anything.