you know what i hate? recklessly divisive rhetoric. a life out of code and side-projects: the two things are not mutually exclusive. op isn't suggested he expe

you know what i hate? recklessly divisive rhetoric. a life out of code and side-projects: the two things are not mutually exclusive. op isn't suggested he expects candidates to have written an os kernel. all op says is he/she looks for side-projects. if you were really interested in discussing the matter you would've asked some exploratory questions (e.g. what is the threshold for substantial side-project). then you would've really had an interesting conversation (because it is possible to have a life outside of programming and still be interested/engaged enough to have a couple of small side projects. and it's completely fair to expect engineers to get extra training. many many many other professions have exactly the same requirements. doctors/dentists have to regularly get re-tested on certain skills/attend conferences/etc.). but no instead you with the one-liner. try just a little harder and maybe you'll actually change someone's mind that's blindly obsessed with side-projects.