Thanks for the answer. On one side I'm happy it mirrors my understanding, but on the other I kinda feel some sadness for simple small beautiful solutions. A lot of models feel like brute force to me.
I think the most impactful thing I've built for now is an open source project used to auto complete C++ code in sublime text: EasyClangComplete. It does not take over the world, but I've been using it for years along with tens of thousands of people and that's good enough for me.
But there is! Use local variables and value semantics. Use references to borrow stuff. Never touch new or delete. Use smart pointers when need an owning pointer (rare). Anything beyond that: ask next in seniority to supervise. That should be enough to live a happy C++ life for a junior.
As a personal anecdote, all of my jobs were actually very interesting with lots of interesting design problems spanning from low level systems to very high level design decisions. Granted I worked in automotive and later in AR and have been lucky enough to be at the start of some projects, but there definitely are interesting projects for C++ out there.
Would not say it's true at least for robotics related fields. I personally taught C++ some years ago and the new guys have taken over since, adopting and improving on my course. There are many specializations where C++ is still a must.