Audio programming beginner advice needed

Hello, I am new to this forum so I’d like explain what I do, and ask for some some advise in audio programming. Feel free to answer all or only one of the questions, or send any reference links that may be beneficial.

I am approaching my senior year of college studying electrical engineering. I have a focus in DSP, and I am very comfortable with the concepts so far. Playing and working with music has been a hobby for many years, and I would love to make audio an aspect of my career. I have interned working in process controls, mainly writing ladder logic (which I find to be too easy at times), but I would like to take a step towards my interest in audio programming. I also have beginner experience in C++. I understand this field can be very difficult, but it may be the road I would like to go down in the near future. So with that I have a couple questions…

What do companies want? Where should I put my focus to get an entry level job in audio? (Algorithms, projects, language, etc.)

Is C++ the most widely used language in the audio world?

Are there any good books or tools that anyone knows about to aid in the learning process, away from the traditional school textbook? (I’ve heard JUCE is a great tool for real time programming as well)

Any addition advice is also appreciated.

Thank you!

A very good, free, on-line book: The Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing's Table of Content

Paid jobs in audio software development are very rare.
A lot of audio programming these days is in embedded systems.