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On average the smartest developers I've worked with from Europe have all come from that neck of the woods, I'm in the UK and our best are the equal of their bes

On average the smartest developers I've worked with from Europe have all come from that neck of the woods, I'm in the UK and our best are the equal of their best but their average is better. They often write better English than English developers as well. I say that as an average developer myself. I think it's a cultural thing combined with rigorous universities and a strong work ethic.

mirceal 8y ago
as someone who is from that neck of woods I can tell you that the people you interact with are probably not your typical developers from there. as with everything in life there are people that are really good at what they do and also there are people that are not so good. i personally don't care where you're from when I'm working with you. what you know and what you can do is what I care about.
- noir_lord 8y ago
  It absolutely could be selection bias. That said I still hold their English was better than the average English person I've worked with generally (not just Developers).
  - dmix 8y ago
    I’ve always found Europeans seem more inclined to generalize by country at the minute level than people in North America. Of course in an endearing sort of way, not to be mean. Talent is talent, it can come from anywhere but tends to congregate in certian places. Usually because talent attracts other talent. Not merely just existing opportunity/attributes of the area.
rocgf 8y ago
> They often write better English than English developers as well. I do have a working theory for why that is. In my home country of Romania, as well as throughout most of Eastern Europe, it is part of the culture to actively and condescendingly correct other people's grammar. I'm still not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but some people take it very seriously. As an example, if someone would make a common mistake, such as "your" instead of "you're" in English, chances are that he or she would get corrected or even laughed at. I don't recall ever seeing this sort of behaviour in the UK, though I'm sure it happens.

mirceal 8y ago

as someone who is from that neck of woods I can tell you that the people you interact with are probably not your typical developers from there. as with everything in life there are people that are really good at what they do and also there are people that are not so good. i personally don't care where you're from when I'm working with you. what you know and what you can do is what I care about.

noir_lord 8y ago
It absolutely could be selection bias. That said I still hold their English was better than the average English person I've worked with generally (not just Developers).
- dmix 8y ago
  I’ve always found Europeans seem more inclined to generalize by country at the minute level than people in North America. Of course in an endearing sort of way, not to be mean. Talent is talent, it can come from anywhere but tends to congregate in certian places. Usually because talent attracts other talent. Not merely just existing opportunity/attributes of the area.

rocgf 8y ago

> They often write better English than English developers as well. I do have a working theory for why that is. In my home country of Romania, as well as throughout most of Eastern Europe, it is part of the culture to actively and condescendingly correct other people's grammar. I'm still not sure if this is a good or bad thing, but some people take it very seriously. As an example, if someone would make a common mistake, such as "your" instead of "you're" in English, chances are that he or she would get corrected or even laughed at. I don't recall ever seeing this sort of behaviour in the UK, though I'm sure it happens.