Who Uses Rust? Companies That Use Rust and What Rust Is Used For

Ever since the Rust Foundation released the popular programming language 11 years ago, it has been adopted by many industry leaders, including Mozilla, Dropbox, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon. If you are considering learning Rust but are concerned about its industry relevance, then you’re in luck. 

Rust is highly relevant in the tech industry today. This article answers some of the most pressing questions about learning Rust as a systems programming language. You’ll learn about who uses Rust, which companies are hiring Rust professionals, and how it’s typically used. 

What Is Rust?

Rust is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language that was designed in 2010 by Graydon Hoare from the Rust Foundation. The programming language has gained a reputation in the industry because of its emphasis on memory safety and performance, particularly its garbage collector system. 

The syntax of Rust is similar to C++, which is one of the most popular programming languages in the C family. So, someone with advanced knowledge of C can easily master Rust and use it for a range of programming and data science projects. Rust programs also implement C++ best practices. 

How Popular Is Rust?

Rust programming language is still one of the most popular programming languages used by developers across the globe. Even if there are many other general-purpose programming languages like Python and Java, Rust is still one of the favorite options used by developers, thanks to its garbage collection system. Below are some facts that attest to its popularity.

• Rust is the most loved language by developers. According to Stack Overflow, Rust is currently the most loved programming language in the development community. This is based on the loved, dreaded, and wanted survey conducted. It is followed by Typescript, Python, and Kotlin. 
• Rust has experienced a steady rise in popularity. Rust has consistently grown in popularity since 2011, according to the current report from TIOBE. While there have been some downturns, there is no doubt that the programming language is growing in popularity. 
• Rust developers are high earners. Rust developers earn an average salary of $91,709 per year, but salaries could go as high as $146,000. If Rust wasn’t in demand, developers would not be among the top earners in the United States. 

What Is Rust Used For? 

Rust has several use cases just like other general-purpose, systems programming languages. This includes programming, game development, web development, data science, and virtual reality. It also provides the perfect framework for blockchain development.

Programming 

Rust can be used for general programming projects since it is an open source system language. This covers anything from website development to critical enterprise application development. You can use Rust to write third-party applications for a wide range of operating systems. 

Game Development 

Using a game engine like Piston or Amethyst Engine, you can use Rust as the primary systems language to create a complete game. Its memory management is efficient and fast. Since it is statistically similar to C++, Rust makes a good addition to a game developer’s knowledge base. 

Web Development 

Rust is an ideal programming language for full stack web development. There are several online websites that are written in Rust language and compiled in WASM for web-based applications. However, some programmers argue that Rust is more ideal for the backend development of critical applications. 

Data Science Backend 

While Rust is not as popular as Python and R for data science, it can be used to build backend systems for data science and data analytic tools. The safety and enhanced performance features make it an excellent tool for data security, low-level code optimization, and data parallelization. 

Virtual Reality

Rust can be used to create VR components if you have access to the right frameworks and libraries. It can be a simple VR game, VR application for real estate, or VR learning application. You can also use Rust to design simulation engines for virtual reality. 

List of Rust Companies: Overview

List of Companies That Use Rust, Expanded

There are several companies that use this efficient language as one of their key high-level languages either for their websites or other critical infrastructure. Some of the most popular companies that use features of Rust in production are listed below. 

Amazon 

Amazon web services (AWS), Amazon’s cloud computing arm, has been a major provider of software as a service for the last 19 years. As one of the contributing companies of Rust, AWS has also used the programming language for a range of services. According to the company’s official blog, Rust is being used for Amazon CloudFront, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). 

Average Salary for Amazon Employees Who Use Rust 

• Cloud Engineer | $103,382

Cloudflare

Since it was designed in 2009, Cloudflare has been one of the best website security companies in the world. The software security company helps to keep websites safe from denial of service attacks and other similar security vulnerabilities in the cyber security space. It uses Rust for core edge logic in data processing because of its security features. 

Average Salaries for Cloud flare Employees Who Use Rust 

• Data Scientists | $138,278
• Software Engineer | $153,554

Coursera

Coursera is one of the largest providers of massive open online courses. The online platform, which was created in 2012, offers free and premium courses for people who want to learn new things. Rust is currently being used as the language for Coursera’s programming assessment channel. 

Average Salary for Coursera Employees Who Use Rust 

• Software Engineer | $147,613

Discord

Discord is a video messaging software with over 350 million active users that was designed in 2015. The platform is written in Rust, Python, C++, JavaScript, and React. Rust allows Discord to scale quickly and improve performance as its user base grows quickly and steadily over the years. Rust is also a great language for Discord because of its memory-safe allocation system. 

Average Salaries for Discord Employees Who Use Rust 

• Senior Software Engineer | $114,263
• Software Engineer  | $155,623

Dropbox

This is a file hosting service that allows people to share and store files on the cloud. The company was launched in 2008 and has gained recognition across the globe since then. Dropbox uses Rust as one of the primary programming languages for its file synchronization engine. Dropbox noted that Rust was the ideal programming language for its file synchronization engine with limited memory errors. 

Average Salaries for Dropbox Employees Who Use Rust 

• Software Engineer | $167,491
• Senior Backend Product Software Engineer | $171,028

Figma

Figma is a popular product for vector graphic design that was launched in 2016. It has a web-based application, desktop application, and mobile application for iOS and Android. The program was written in TypeScript, but rewritten in Rust as the company’s user base grew and needed more scalability and memory usage. 

Average Salary for Figma Employees Who Use Rust 

• Software Engineer | $164,692 

Google 

Google is one of the big five tech companies that contributed to the development of Rust by supporting the Rust Foundation. The company also relies on Rust as one of its Android development programming languages. Google also noted that Rust will be the core programming language for a Linux kernel operating system it is now working on. 

Average Salary for Google Employees Who Use Rust 

• Senior Software Engineer | $150,000

Kraken 

Kraken is one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States. It was founded in 2011 and has its headquarters in San Francisco. In February 2021, Kraken announced that it was using Rust to rewrite the PHP codes on its online platform due to the significant rise in cryptocurrency activity. 

Average Salaries for Kraken Employees Who Use Rust 

• Rust Engineer | $156,262
• Backend Engineer | $156,262

Microsoft 

Microsoft is another big five tech company that supports the development of Rust. The company uses Rust for systems programming on the Windows operating system. Also, in 2021, Microsoft announced that it would be launching Rust 0.9, a new version of Rust for Windows that allows developers to build software via Windows API. 

Average Salaries for Microsoft Employees Who Use Rust 

• Software Engineer II | $127,327
• Research Software Development Engineer | $131,731

Mozilla 

The Mozilla Foundation is one of the biggest supporters of Rust and is the non-profit organization behind the Mozilla Firefox browser. The company changed over 160,000 lines of C++ code to about 85,000 lines of Rust code in 2021. It also uses Rust as the ideal choice for concurrent programs. 

Average Salary for Mozilla Employees Who Use Rust 

• Senior Staff Software Engineer |  $211,390

Which Real-World Rust Use Case Is Right for Me?

Rust has all the same use cases as C but is a high-performance version that emphasizes code safety. If you already know C, learning Rust can help you alternate between both programming languages whenever you want. It isn’t currently as popular as C programming languages but there are several high-paying companies that hire people with experience with Rust. 

You can use Rust for game development, VR development, web development, critical systems programming, and data science. All you have to do is learn Rust, practice your skills, and build your Rust portfolio to show prospective employers. If working with Rust interests you, then consider sharpening your Rust skills with Rust projects. 

Uses of Rust FAQ

Who supports Rust?

Rust is supported by the Rust Foundation, the organization behind its original development. The Rust Foundation has also received support from Google, Microsoft, Mozilla, Amazon Web Services, and Huawei, the five founding companies.

Why isn’t Rust more popular?

Rust isn’t as popular as C and other top languages because it doesn’t have enough resources to support developers in the Rust ecosystem. There are limited integrated run-time environments and Rust libraries available. This has hindered adoption and made things difficult for people who want to create Rust projects.

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Is Rust hard to learn?

No, Rust is not difficult to learn if you already have experience with C or system programming languages. Someone with no knowledge of programming will need more time than a beginner with no prior coding experience. The fastest way to learn Rust is to enroll in online courses and start personal projects.

How long does it take to learn Rust?

It takes between three weeks to one year for users to become proficient with Rust. Experienced programmers learn Rust much faster than amateurs, just like with every other programming language. With dedication and the right schedule, you can start designing Rust applications within a few weeks.