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Why should skilled developers with extensive track-records in their field be forced to use their free time to cram for college-style exams? Other professions de

Why should skilled developers with extensive track-records in their field be forced to use their free time to cram for college-style exams? Other professions dealing with exact-sciences / engineering don't seem to have this problem..

filoleg 10y ago
While I agree with the sentiment, I wouldn't call it "college-style exams", to be honest. Colleges would be quite different if exams were conducted one-on-one, and instructor would have been willing to talk with you through the problem and cared more about your thought train and approach rather than the exact solution. In fact, I am pretty sure that if you just knew the correct solution and the answer to the coding interview and simply wrote it down silently on the whiteboard (which would be the best outcome on a college exam), you would be rejected instantaneously.
- paulgb 10y ago
  I used to interview for Google, if a candidate knew an answer immediately I'd be impressed but I'd always have a harder variation in my back pocket. And if you write out the answer in silence, be prepared for a "tell me how it works" follow-up.
- FLUX-YOU 10y ago
  >simply wrote it down silently on the whiteboard (which would be the best outcome on a college exam), you would be rejected instantaneously. No, jesus. Some people need to switch to a presentation mindset and out of a problem-solving mindset. This is completely normal in life. I'm starting to think most interviewers are terrible only for not having a decent amount of social interaction with strangers. Let's just admit it's 90% hazing ritual at this point so we can get on with putting up guides to get through it.
- n4r9 10y ago
  Oral examinations used to be fairly common, back when the student/examiner ratio was low enough. There's a legend that the Cambridge "Tripos" examination gets its name from the tripod that candidates sat on during that examination: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripos#Etymology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripos#Etymology
sdenton4 10y ago
Mostly false. Other areas have professional exams, but they're generally industry standards instead of given by the hiring company. This is more efficient if you're a candidate, since you only need to take the test once. (Or more if you don't pass the first time.) My house mate just got a professional engineer's certificate after being at work in the field for about five years. Of course, if we had this in swe land, it would probably end up looking a lot like those silly certificate programs in soon-to-be-obsolete tech of yesteryear...
- vinhboy 10y ago
  This is actually a brilliant idea. > soon-to-be-obsolete tech of yesteryear Not if it focuses on things like basic algos, and understanding basic data structure. Then it would be timeless. And if that makes employers more confident in my abilities, then I will gladly do that. Because it's a lot easier to study for a standard test than a bunch of different tech interview scenarios.
  - poikniok 10y ago
    We already have this, it is called a CS degree.

filoleg 10y ago

While I agree with the sentiment, I wouldn't call it "college-style exams", to be honest. Colleges would be quite different if exams were conducted one-on-one, and instructor would have been willing to talk with you through the problem and cared more about your thought train and approach rather than the exact solution. In fact, I am pretty sure that if you just knew the correct solution and the answer to the coding interview and simply wrote it down silently on the whiteboard (which would be the best outcome on a college exam), you would be rejected instantaneously.

paulgb 10y ago
I used to interview for Google, if a candidate knew an answer immediately I'd be impressed but I'd always have a harder variation in my back pocket. And if you write out the answer in silence, be prepared for a "tell me how it works" follow-up.
FLUX-YOU 10y ago
>simply wrote it down silently on the whiteboard (which would be the best outcome on a college exam), you would be rejected instantaneously. No, jesus. Some people need to switch to a presentation mindset and out of a problem-solving mindset. This is completely normal in life. I'm starting to think most interviewers are terrible only for not having a decent amount of social interaction with strangers. Let's just admit it's 90% hazing ritual at this point so we can get on with putting up guides to get through it.
n4r9 10y ago
Oral examinations used to be fairly common, back when the student/examiner ratio was low enough. There's a legend that the Cambridge "Tripos" examination gets its name from the tripod that candidates sat on during that examination: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripos#Etymology https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripos#Etymology

sdenton4 10y ago

Mostly false. Other areas have professional exams, but they're generally industry standards instead of given by the hiring company. This is more efficient if you're a candidate, since you only need to take the test once. (Or more if you don't pass the first time.) My house mate just got a professional engineer's certificate after being at work in the field for about five years. Of course, if we had this in swe land, it would probably end up looking a lot like those silly certificate programs in soon-to-be-obsolete tech of yesteryear...

vinhboy 10y ago
This is actually a brilliant idea. > soon-to-be-obsolete tech of yesteryear Not if it focuses on things like basic algos, and understanding basic data structure. Then it would be timeless. And if that makes employers more confident in my abilities, then I will gladly do that. Because it's a lot easier to study for a standard test than a bunch of different tech interview scenarios.
- poikniok 10y ago
  We already have this, it is called a CS degree.