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What would (1) look like in the context of education? What exactly do you mean by externalities? Otherwise yes, I agree that the ideal solution would be to pro

What would (1) look like in the context of education? What exactly do you mean by externalities? Otherwise yes, I agree that the ideal solution would be to provide compelling alternatives at lower cost. The issue is, we've seen this fail already in education. MOOCs attempted to democratize elite education, but instead increased the entrenchment of those institutions. In software, bootcamps and the like have also failed to dislodge the prominence of signalling. Indeed, if there's anything the past decade has shown, it's the increased availability of information, and the increased democratization of resources, have only increased the value of signalling. The market itself has become so skewed, so incredibly inelastic (to cost in general), that competition is becoming nearly impossible.

tracker1 7y ago
There is no one solution... I think that we need to start accepting that, and acknowledge that there are overlaps in terms of ability and the course one takes to learn and inject themselves into a profession. Like bootcamps... from my experience the best of the bootcamp grads will outperform and do better than the vast majority of developers from traditional computer science backgrounds for most work. The bottom of the bootcamps are worse than those from traditional education. Self-taught tend to be towards the top as well. The rest is a deck of cards and some roles lend themselves to those traditionally trained, or the few that go very far above and beyond what they have been required to do in terms of learning. This also overlaps with regards to natural aptitude as well. There are people that do not, and likely will never get it. There are those with personality issues that will take years to understand how to interact with others (if ever). It's a mixed bag. The "pre-interview homework" doesn't really help much. Depending on that process, as an interviewee it comes so early that you aren't even sure that you're interested enough in the company and have enough other places to talk to. It will depend. That said, it isn't that hard to compete. Show competence, drive and a desire to learn. If you are Junior level, work to level up, make something, throw it up on github and interact with a broader community. Read up on the things you want to learn and use them. Write about what you are learning, and get feedback. If you're mid level, get to know your design patterns better. Don't assume you should apply them everywhere, but be aware of them. If you're senior level, branch out and learn new things. Yeah, you've used C# and SQL Server the past decade, have you done .Net Core? Have you looked at other modern languages lately? Challenge yourself. Competing means dedicating time and effort, and it doesn't take too much. It does take more at the beginning of your career. I have been at this for almost 25 years now. I spend 2 hours a day on average looking at technical articles and commenting. I spent my recent vacation reading about Rust, usually do road trips. I am passionate about my own career, and still enjoy learning above anything. Above all else, be honest about what you know, and what you don't.

tracker1 7y ago

There is no one solution... I think that we need to start accepting that, and acknowledge that there are overlaps in terms of ability and the course one takes to learn and inject themselves into a profession. Like bootcamps... from my experience the best of the bootcamp grads will outperform and do better than the vast majority of developers from traditional computer science backgrounds for most work. The bottom of the bootcamps are worse than those from traditional education. Self-taught tend to be towards the top as well. The rest is a deck of cards and some roles lend themselves to those traditionally trained, or the few that go very far above and beyond what they have been required to do in terms of learning. This also overlaps with regards to natural aptitude as well. There are people that do not, and likely will never get it. There are those with personality issues that will take years to understand how to interact with others (if ever). It's a mixed bag. The "pre-interview homework" doesn't really help much. Depending on that process, as an interviewee it comes so early that you aren't even sure that you're interested enough in the company and have enough other places to talk to. It will depend. That said, it isn't that hard to compete. Show competence, drive and a desire to learn. If you are Junior level, work to level up, make something, throw it up on github and interact with a broader community. Read up on the things you want to learn and use them. Write about what you are learning, and get feedback. If you're mid level, get to know your design patterns better. Don't assume you should apply them everywhere, but be aware of them. If you're senior level, branch out and learn new things. Yeah, you've used C# and SQL Server the past decade, have you done .Net Core? Have you looked at other modern languages lately? Challenge yourself. Competing means dedicating time and effort, and it doesn't take too much. It does take more at the beginning of your career. I have been at this for almost 25 years now. I spend 2 hours a day on average looking at technical articles and commenting. I spent my recent vacation reading about Rust, usually do road trips. I am passionate about my own career, and still enjoy learning above anything. Above all else, be honest about what you know, and what you don't.