C++, how many years experience?
<p>As a little background, I've been programming for a long time now using various languages, systems, etc.</p>

<p>I've come across the old problem of a recruiter wanting to know "how many years experience" I have of C++. I'm a little stumped as I've bounced around it many times over a number of years. I don't think I can just add up the months/years. I'd put myself somewhere around the 3 - 5 year mark. I know it's a bit of a wide range, but I'm not really sure, with newer standards and libraries, the older stuff probably becomes deprecated.</p>

<p>So, I wanted to ask your opinion. What would you expect a C++ programmer with (i) 3 years, and (ii) 5 years experience (mainly on Unix/Linux systems) to be able to do?
Perhaps, more importantly, what would be the difference you would expect to see between a programmer of 3 years compared to 5 years (and above)?</p>

<p>I know this is all a bit vague and the correct answer is, "it depends". But if anyone has a good opinion, I'd love to know.</p>
