Safe? I'll say. My employer is looking to expand by hiring another 200+ C/C++ developers over the next 18-24 months. I don't think the language is going any where. That said, managed languages are wonderful for developing UI apps and basic server code because they're faster to develop with and help to prevent memory issues. I personally work a lot with C# and it has made my life easier for the things it's good at. I'm happy to have more tools, because I wouldn't use a hammer to turn a screw even though I suppose I could.