7 ms·

The same skills used in competitive programming are needed to pass a modern day technical interview at some of the larger companies. So I wouldn't necessarily s

by 40acres 10y ago

The same skills used in competitive programming are needed to pass a modern day technical interview at some of the larger companies. So I wouldn't necessarily say it has nothing to do with getting a better job or salary.

mod 10y ago
In the sense of "this article has nothing to do with jobs or salaries," I would rate the claim true. The article has not one mention of either. If you're trying to argue that improving your skillset makes you more employable, sure, but that's such a general statement that I'm not sure it holds up as a retort.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  I think the GP means that problems solved in programming competitions are similar to what you'll find on some job interviews.
  - mod 10y ago
    Sure, and I think the comment he replied to means "the term competitive is ambiguous, let me clear it up: this is not talking about advancing your career."
    - kbenson 10y ago
      I guess, to the degree that you would assume "competitive programming" could be interpreted as something specifically to advance your career, which I know I didn't, and I'm not sure how you could (but I could easily be missing a common different interpretation). That is, I wouldn't assume "A Competitive Fisher's Handbook" would apply to my career as a bulk tuna fisherman, and I would find a comment that points out that there is nothing related between the two as as both obvious (colloquially), and overreaching (specifically) to the point I might feel the need to counter-correct as there very well might be links between them that could help in non-obvious ways. That competitive programming and interviews share more than superficial similarities might make me even more likely to do so.
__jal 10y ago
Staying fit also helps job performance, as does public speaking. Shall we start a comprehensive list of skills and activities tangentially related to making more money?
- atemerev 10y ago
  Actually, yes please. Can be published as a book and sold for money!
deleted 10y ago
[deleted]
throwaway_374 10y ago
Sadly the proliferation of sites like HackerRank (YC funded shamefully) means competitive programming is the first "filter" stage for interviews these days.
- __jal 10y ago
  I actually don't mind that. The filter works both ways - it tells me the company in question is clueless about hiring tech talent, so I can ignore them.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
- kevinclancy 10y ago
  Is that sad? It's a better filter than college degrees.
  - throwaway_374 10y ago
    So your ability in a pressured limited-time environment come up with an O(N) dynamic programming algorithm for a fictitious scenario is a testament to your ability as a software engineer versus a competitive programmer who can pattern match scenarios?
    - mciancia 10y ago
      But algo questions are usually just part of the interview, not the whole thing. And usually they are fairly simple, so every good software engineer should be able to solve them.
      - throwaway_374 10y ago
        Really, I've had an example of deriving (I didn't know what it was called at the time) Manacher's Palindromic substrings: http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/manachers-algorithm-linear-time-longest-palindromic-substring-part-1/ http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/manachers-algorithm-linear-time...
cyorir 10y ago
I can do well enough on programming challenges at a place like HackerRank. However, I very rarely actually get to the technical interview in a job application; most commonly, I apply and don't hear back from the company. So as far as I'm concerned, I need better something but that something isn't better skills.
- oblio 10y ago
  More networking, possibly better networking (easy, I think). Better university name (hard to do). Better company names (not that hard, I think). (Major) Open Source contributions (not hard, but time consuming). Other studies or certifications (easy). If they're not calling you, I'd work on these.
  - user5994461 10y ago
    You forgot the most important. More real world experience, and a well formatted resume.
  - cyorir 10y ago
    Definitely all things I'd like to work on.

by 40acres 10y ago

mod 10y ago

In the sense of "this article has nothing to do with jobs or salaries," I would rate the claim true. The article has not one mention of either. If you're trying to argue that improving your skillset makes you more employable, sure, but that's such a general statement that I'm not sure it holds up as a retort.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
I think the GP means that problems solved in programming competitions are similar to what you'll find on some job interviews.
- mod 10y ago
  Sure, and I think the comment he replied to means "the term competitive is ambiguous, let me clear it up: this is not talking about advancing your career."
  - kbenson 10y ago
    I guess, to the degree that you would assume "competitive programming" could be interpreted as something specifically to advance your career, which I know I didn't, and I'm not sure how you could (but I could easily be missing a common different interpretation). That is, I wouldn't assume "A Competitive Fisher's Handbook" would apply to my career as a bulk tuna fisherman, and I would find a comment that points out that there is nothing related between the two as as both obvious (colloquially), and overreaching (specifically) to the point I might feel the need to counter-correct as there very well might be links between them that could help in non-obvious ways. That competitive programming and interviews share more than superficial similarities might make me even more likely to do so.

__jal 10y ago

Staying fit also helps job performance, as does public speaking. Shall we start a comprehensive list of skills and activities tangentially related to making more money?

atemerev 10y ago
Actually, yes please. Can be published as a book and sold for money!

deleted 10y ago

[deleted]

throwaway_374 10y ago

Sadly the proliferation of sites like HackerRank (YC funded shamefully) means competitive programming is the first "filter" stage for interviews these days.

__jal 10y ago
I actually don't mind that. The filter works both ways - it tells me the company in question is clueless about hiring tech talent, so I can ignore them.
- deleted 10y ago
  [deleted]
kevinclancy 10y ago
Is that sad? It's a better filter than college degrees.
- throwaway_374 10y ago
  So your ability in a pressured limited-time environment come up with an O(N) dynamic programming algorithm for a fictitious scenario is a testament to your ability as a software engineer versus a competitive programmer who can pattern match scenarios?
  - mciancia 10y ago
    But algo questions are usually just part of the interview, not the whole thing. And usually they are fairly simple, so every good software engineer should be able to solve them.
    - throwaway_374 10y ago
      Really, I've had an example of deriving (I didn't know what it was called at the time) Manacher's Palindromic substrings: http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/manachers-algorithm-linear-time-longest-palindromic-substring-part-1/ http://www.geeksforgeeks.org/manachers-algorithm-linear-time...

cyorir 10y ago

I can do well enough on programming challenges at a place like HackerRank. However, I very rarely actually get to the technical interview in a job application; most commonly, I apply and don't hear back from the company. So as far as I'm concerned, I need better something but that something isn't better skills.

oblio 10y ago
More networking, possibly better networking (easy, I think). Better university name (hard to do). Better company names (not that hard, I think). (Major) Open Source contributions (not hard, but time consuming). Other studies or certifications (easy). If they're not calling you, I'd work on these.
- user5994461 10y ago
  You forgot the most important. More real world experience, and a well formatted resume.
- cyorir 10y ago
  Definitely all things I'd like to work on.