If there were surgeons applying for jobs who didn't know what a scalpel was, I sure hope they'd be asking that at an interview. Anyone can write on their CV th

If there were surgeons applying for jobs who didn't know what a scalpel was, I sure hope they'd be asking that at an interview. Anyone can write on their CV that they've got five years programming experience, unless you can demonstrate the skills you've learnt over those five years, then you might as well have spent those five years watching paint dry. If you've spent the last five years teaching undergrads data structures, then I certainly expect you to be able to answer questions on data structures. Medicine is a regulated profession so you don't need to ask these questions as someones already asked them and certified the individual. What's often missed is the fact that software development interviews are an order of magnitude better than those in other non-certified professions. In many industries interviews often come down to the gut instinct of the interviewer, a practice which is known to be highly unreliable. Programmers are lucky that we're in a profession where it is possible to separate the wheat from the chaff using objective questions.