I live in flyover country, so we hire from a different pool. I'm not sure if this is a general rule, or if the Bay Area has sucked all of the talent out of the

I live in flyover country, so we hire from a different pool. I'm not sure if this is a general rule, or if the Bay Area has sucked all of the talent out of the region, but I have yet to interview a competent graduate from the CS program down the street at Big State U. We've had better luck hiring from engineering and the applied sciences. Ceteris paribus, I'd prefer candidates with some theory background, but the ceteris are not paribus.