3 ms·

Do you think even the most basic measure, say number of years, is any worse than the current process?

gambiting 8y ago
Of course! Have you never met a programmer who had ~20 years of experience but actually was extremely weak at programming? Even the most basic of interviews would disqualify them from the job, but an ML algorithm can give them huge points on the "experience" alone.
- VBprogrammer 8y ago
  I too have encountered developers with many years of experience and little programming skill. But in those cases I'd not hire them; or if they made it through the net I'd put them on a performance improvement plan and begin the process of firing them.
  - gambiting 8y ago
    I don't know where you live, but at least in EU the cost of hiring the wrong person is monstrous. Unless they were literally caught stealing and you can fire them for gross negligance, you are looking at months of "performance improvement plans", when both of you know that it won't actually improve anything. All while you are paying them full salary, national insurance, tax etc, and also sinking in the time of another employee who now has to deal with the situation. It's extremely critical to not hire those people in the first place, and I would not trust an algorithm to do that.
    - VBprogrammer 8y ago
      Sorry, I guess we've got our wires crossed somewhere. I'm not suggesting that the hiring process be automated. Just that the compensation offered is fixed along a completely rigid structure.
amiga-workbench 8y ago
I do, some people can do the same job for decades and somehow never improve their skills or personally develop. I'm not just interested in pure technical skills from somebody, I want somebody who has the common sense and risk aversion to keep their projects running steadily and effectively without needing to put out fires weekly. I also appreciate people who have something that I like to call "applied laziness", that being an aversion to repeating the same task over and over or building things that will require constant attention down the line. People with this skill are happy to put as much effort in as necessary in the short term to ensure that they don't have to expend needless effort in the future.

Of course! Have you never met a programmer who had ~20 years of experience but actually was extremely weak at programming? Even the most basic of interviews would disqualify them from the job, but an ML algorithm can give them huge points on the "experience" alone.

VBprogrammer 8y ago
I too have encountered developers with many years of experience and little programming skill. But in those cases I'd not hire them; or if they made it through the net I'd put them on a performance improvement plan and begin the process of firing them.
- gambiting 8y ago
  I don't know where you live, but at least in EU the cost of hiring the wrong person is monstrous. Unless they were literally caught stealing and you can fire them for gross negligance, you are looking at months of "performance improvement plans", when both of you know that it won't actually improve anything. All while you are paying them full salary, national insurance, tax etc, and also sinking in the time of another employee who now has to deal with the situation. It's extremely critical to not hire those people in the first place, and I would not trust an algorithm to do that.
  - VBprogrammer 8y ago
    Sorry, I guess we've got our wires crossed somewhere. I'm not suggesting that the hiring process be automated. Just that the compensation offered is fixed along a completely rigid structure.

amiga-workbench 8y ago

I do, some people can do the same job for decades and somehow never improve their skills or personally develop. I'm not just interested in pure technical skills from somebody, I want somebody who has the common sense and risk aversion to keep their projects running steadily and effectively without needing to put out fires weekly. I also appreciate people who have something that I like to call "applied laziness", that being an aversion to repeating the same task over and over or building things that will require constant attention down the line. People with this skill are happy to put as much effort in as necessary in the short term to ensure that they don't have to expend needless effort in the future.