[Yunk]

> I've seen a lot of c++ jobs in the finance sector in NYC

Fast + Legacy = Finance

But based on complaints I hear here in Zurich, the OP would never become qualified learning C++ part time to be the local expert directing offshore junior engineers.

If you want to compete with people who will have more hours of experience then choose a playing field with a reduced instruction set so you will also have had adequate hours with everything and you will only lose out against the minority who continue mastering the subject instead of just getting good enough.

C++ is the wrong direction for someone with a life because it rewards almost every hour of learning equally (or equally poorly depending on your opinions and futures predictions.)

[sedeki]

Are you working at a bank as a developer in Zurich?

[Yunk]

No, I just live in Zurich. The past products I worked on were mostly for banks so I still pay a little more attention to what developers from banks and finance groups say when I run into them.

Personally, I am a long time C developer but I simply ignore any postings with "C/C++" and no longer use C very much when I have an option to use a language that is easier to find alone in job listings.

If you are serious about C++ part time then I would suggest something rather write-only in a small group. For example, I did consider learning some OpenMP and working with research scientists. That is a nicer situation since most groups end up using a reasonably small dialect to stay focused on the task and you probably wont waste limited experience time reviewing arbitrarily bad code that misuses esoteric features. But that is exactly why it doesn't adequately prepare you for situations like Banks or make you a "C++ Developer" instead of a good programmer who happens to be using C++.