5 ms·

We use university degrees and GPAs as a proxy for IQ, and even with grade inflation, it think it is still a good proxy.

tptacek 10y ago
Degrees and GPA are primarily a proxy for social status. You have to start by giving some thought to what your screens aren't telling you. A bad screen that rejects 90% of qualified candidates can easily look like a great screen so long as it's not passing through obvious bozos. That's the problem with screens! It's easy to reject most bozos, but hard to let through most solid candidates.
- crzwdjk 10y ago
  And of course Google and Facebook and the like don't really have a problem with rejecting 90% of qualified candidates, because "everyone" wants to work there and they have no shortage of qualified applicants. On the other hand, everyone that is imitating them has a rather big problem, because most potential candidates haven't even heard of their company.
- flukus 10y ago
  > Degrees and GPA are primarily a proxy for social status. And IQ also has a correlation with social status, like it or not.
  - tptacek 10y ago
    I find all the most important and incisive comments about the nature and distribution of intelligence in society tend to end with "like it or not".
throwanem 10y ago
What do you do about people who didn't go to school?
- intrasight 10y ago
  If there are plenty of candidates applying that have degrees from accredited institutions, then they are SOL. It gets interesting when there aren't enough qualified candidates.
  - throwanem 10y ago
    I like that you make a distinction between qualified candidates and those without tertiary education. It makes your priorities very clear.
    - intrasight 10y ago
      Wasn't my intention. I should have qualified qualified: > between "qualified" candidates I'm presenting from the point of view of the hiring institution. But still... If I were a law firm, I wouldn't hire a lawyer who hadn't gone to law school. Why would we behave differently with software engineers?
      - kasey_junk 10y ago
        Largely because a lawyer who hasn't gone to law school won't be able to practice in most places, due to their guild preventing them. That same guild has coordinated a test & accreditation process that largely spans their industry. Whether or not this process has led to better lawyers or legal procedures is an open question, but the software industry has no such standardization, testing, or work embargo, so they are largely not comparable.

Degrees and GPA are primarily a proxy for social status. You have to start by giving some thought to what your screens aren't telling you. A bad screen that rejects 90% of qualified candidates can easily look like a great screen so long as it's not passing through obvious bozos. That's the problem with screens! It's easy to reject most bozos, but hard to let through most solid candidates.

crzwdjk 10y ago
And of course Google and Facebook and the like don't really have a problem with rejecting 90% of qualified candidates, because "everyone" wants to work there and they have no shortage of qualified applicants. On the other hand, everyone that is imitating them has a rather big problem, because most potential candidates haven't even heard of their company.
flukus 10y ago
> Degrees and GPA are primarily a proxy for social status. And IQ also has a correlation with social status, like it or not.
- tptacek 10y ago
  I find all the most important and incisive comments about the nature and distribution of intelligence in society tend to end with "like it or not".

throwanem 10y ago

What do you do about people who didn't go to school?

intrasight 10y ago
If there are plenty of candidates applying that have degrees from accredited institutions, then they are SOL. It gets interesting when there aren't enough qualified candidates.
- throwanem 10y ago
  I like that you make a distinction between qualified candidates and those without tertiary education. It makes your priorities very clear.
  - intrasight 10y ago
    Wasn't my intention. I should have qualified qualified: > between "qualified" candidates I'm presenting from the point of view of the hiring institution. But still... If I were a law firm, I wouldn't hire a lawyer who hadn't gone to law school. Why would we behave differently with software engineers?
    - kasey_junk 10y ago
      Largely because a lawyer who hasn't gone to law school won't be able to practice in most places, due to their guild preventing them. That same guild has coordinated a test & accreditation process that largely spans their industry. Whether or not this process has led to better lawyers or legal procedures is an open question, but the software industry has no such standardization, testing, or work embargo, so they are largely not comparable.