hw - sw switch is popular (Score 1)

I saw 10s of engineers who made this switch. In some industries (telecom equipment, storage) it is very common. I do not understand the question about language - I suppose you can program in C and it is still bread and butter in many cases.

Try to get contract job first. In the past I had good experience with some guys that now are working for http://www.symphonyteleca.com/