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I agree with Danny here. In fact, part of the reason we built Work for Pie is to address this issue. I also agree with some of the other comments - Github cer

I agree with Danny here. In fact, part of the reason we built Work for Pie is to address this issue. I also agree with some of the other comments - Github certainly isn't the end all be all. But, we're all trending away from traditional education, and software developers are on the leading edge of this trend. There may be a fairly standard path for "finance guy," but great developers can (and often do) come from any background. Resourceful developers can learn all they need for free via sources outside of a CS degree someplace. So the question for a company seeking great developers becomes "how do I evaluate these non-traditional folks?" Resumes don't get there, but open source work can work to fill that gap. It's certainly not key for everyone - there are plenty of folks who stand on their own without a public repo in site. But, increasingly, it replaces more traditional indicators of talent like CS degrees. Just my 2 cents, and I'm admittedly a bit biased.

anonymoushn 15y ago
I haven't found CS degrees to be very well correlated with being able to program, so I think this need applies even to people who got an education in the normal way.
- nandemo 15y ago
  > I haven't found CS degrees to be very well correlated with being able to program, That's only true if you artificially restrict your population. It's like saying that music degrees aren't well correlated with being able to play an instrument or sing, because most people I meet at my local jazz joint (including customers) can play an instrument, though only a minority has a music degree.
  - anonymoushn 15y ago
    Right, what I mean is that they are not very well correlated among people who are applying to make software for my employer. I'm sure that a more uniform sampling would produce a very high correlation in favor of people with CS degrees, but it would also be a lot less like anyone's hiring process.

anonymoushn 15y ago

I haven't found CS degrees to be very well correlated with being able to program, so I think this need applies even to people who got an education in the normal way.

nandemo 15y ago
> I haven't found CS degrees to be very well correlated with being able to program, That's only true if you artificially restrict your population. It's like saying that music degrees aren't well correlated with being able to play an instrument or sing, because most people I meet at my local jazz joint (including customers) can play an instrument, though only a minority has a music degree.
- anonymoushn 15y ago
  Right, what I mean is that they are not very well correlated among people who are applying to make software for my employer. I'm sure that a more uniform sampling would produce a very high correlation in favor of people with CS degrees, but it would also be a lot less like anyone's hiring process.