4 ms·
I have noticed that system design questions are asked in mid-level and even entry-level SWE roles. It's bizarre to me that expecting a fresh grad to build twitt
by game_the0ry 6y ago
I have noticed that system design questions are asked in mid-level and even entry-level SWE roles. It's bizarre to me that expecting a fresh grad to build twitter is somehow an accurate assessment of that person's coding skills.
I think hiring managers have run out of hard questions to ask to sufficiently justify gate keeping the high-paying jobs they are dolling out - every grad knows to prep with CTCI, EPI, and leetcode; but what happens when all 10 of the 10 candidates you interview know how to invert a...whatever-tree in optimal O(n) in ~10 mins (bc they all used the same books to prep)? "Well, then you ask harder questions" is the superficial response from hiring managers. And that's how asking hard-level leetcodes in phone interviews becomes the norm.
I am curious to see how far this goes.
Remember the days when FizzBuzz would be sufficient to get a job? I don't, unfortunately, but perhaps some of you do.
We need to think harder about how we hire people. There are better ways.
Off-topic, but the chicken/egg metaphor can be used for any job in America (and probably the rest of the world), not just senior software engineering jobs. I had this problem when I graduated into the great recession in 2008 - every employer wanted 2 years of experience for entry-level jobs, not realizing or caring that you need the job in the first place to get that exp. And that's how you get a skills shortage over many years.
- obviouslynotme 6y agoThe problem is that the industry has been sold a lie that a magical team of 10X Rockstar 1337 developers can make designing and maintaining large and complex systems easier. Of course, US companies would never purposefully reject qualified candidates in an effort to get more H1B visas either.