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Let me ask you this question - when was last time you used a binary tree at work? Just curious. Maybe you do use this stuff. Then in this case the current hirin

Let me ask you this question - when was last time you used a binary tree at work? Just curious. Maybe you do use this stuff. Then in this case the current hiring process is perfect for you. I manipulate hash tables all day everyday and data structures at a high level. Languages like Java, Objective-c, swift, etc. aren't built for schools. They are built for professionals who want to build products. Which is what I do all day. The underlying/academic thing isn't relevant anymore in 2017. Plus, I graduated from college with a CS major 10 years ago. That alone should be enough for a company to believe I'm not a Walmart employee trying to switch careers. (I have nothing against Walmart employees). Are you a Mac user or a PC user? Let's say you're a Mac user. What if I ask you specific questions about the OS X kernel? If you use it everyday then you should know how it works right? We, software engineers, build products, or at least the majority of us. Technical interviews should focus on that, we should be building mini products and features and get evaluated on that rather than white boarding stuff.

dozzie 10y ago
> Let me ask you this question - when was last time you used a binary tree at work? Three tools ago (my tools are small and orbit around 5kLOC). And it seems I'll need one again in current tool, for similar reasons. > Languages like Java, Objective-c, swift, etc. aren't built for schools. Very little languages were written for schools specifically. But this doesn't mean much, because the same stands for table saws or CNC machines, yet students (woodworkers and machinists) are taught to operate those. > The underlying/academic thing isn't relevant anymore in 2017. As I said, I don't know what you do in your work, but the underlying concepts are not relevant only if you never use them. Which I think tells something if even a sysadmin uses them. > Plus, I graduated from college with a CS major 10 years ago. If we're bragging, then I don't even have a degree and apparently I have work experience of similar length. And compare our attitudes towards data structures knowledge: I use it often, you don't. What went wrong? > [CS degree] That alone should be enough for a company to believe I'm not a Walmart employee trying to switch careers. As I said, quizzes about data structures seem to be a location-based thing. > We, software engineers, build products, or at least the majority of us. Technical interviews should focus on that, we should be building mini products and features and get evaluated on that rather than white boarding stuff. Mind you, I don't claim we should not. I just say that your "white boarding stuff" seems to be local to some geographical area(s?) and that knowledge about basic algorithms and data structures is important even for a sysadmin that happens to wirte tools, so it should also be the case for regular senior programmers.
sigjuice 10y ago
What sort of questions about the OS X kernel do you have in mind?

dozzie 10y ago

> Let me ask you this question - when was last time you used a binary tree at work? Three tools ago (my tools are small and orbit around 5kLOC). And it seems I'll need one again in current tool, for similar reasons. > Languages like Java, Objective-c, swift, etc. aren't built for schools. Very little languages were written for schools specifically. But this doesn't mean much, because the same stands for table saws or CNC machines, yet students (woodworkers and machinists) are taught to operate those. > The underlying/academic thing isn't relevant anymore in 2017. As I said, I don't know what you do in your work, but the underlying concepts are not relevant only if you never use them. Which I think tells something if even a sysadmin uses them. > Plus, I graduated from college with a CS major 10 years ago. If we're bragging, then I don't even have a degree and apparently I have work experience of similar length. And compare our attitudes towards data structures knowledge: I use it often, you don't. What went wrong? > [CS degree] That alone should be enough for a company to believe I'm not a Walmart employee trying to switch careers. As I said, quizzes about data structures seem to be a location-based thing. > We, software engineers, build products, or at least the majority of us. Technical interviews should focus on that, we should be building mini products and features and get evaluated on that rather than white boarding stuff. Mind you, I don't claim we should not. I just say that your "white boarding stuff" seems to be local to some geographical area(s?) and that knowledge about basic algorithms and data structures is important even for a sysadmin that happens to wirte tools, so it should also be the case for regular senior programmers.

sigjuice 10y ago

What sort of questions about the OS X kernel do you have in mind?