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I understand that you can, but I asked if you do? If you don't, the claim of having a degree holds no more water than claiming the title of "best programmer eve

I understand that you can, but I asked if you do? If you don't, the claim of having a degree holds no more water than claiming the title of "best programmer ever". There was a high level executive from, I believe, Yahoo in somewhat recent times caught without having a degree, despite claiming to have one. It is clear that some people are definitely slipping through the cracks, even in large organizations who have the resources to do the requisite background checks. We also hear, over and over again, about the supposed college graduates who cannot even solve fizzbuzz which indicates that a lot of people are lying. How many people, who actually have the skills and aren't foiled by fizzbuzz, are making their way into industry by lying about their education? I guess that is something we'll probably never know for sure, but what if it happens more often than we might suspect?

codeonfire 14y ago
To answer your question I don't immediately think someone who claims to have a degree is full of shit about their degree. It takes a special kind of person to blatantly lie about an easily verifiable fact. I assume that any capable HR department is going to call the college registrar when conducting the background check. In the Yahoo CEO case, I don't think he started listing computer science until after getting the job. Fizzbuzz failures happen because people don't code every day and can lose their edge in just a few weeks or someone did a degree that has very little practical material. Obviously, having a degree doesn't mean someone is a great programmer. Its just another tool to form a basis of trust. Obviously a lot of people do lie their way in and do nothing or do negative work. That's why a lot of companies are so awful to work at if one is serious about their profession and actually trying to move things forward.

codeonfire 14y ago

To answer your question I don't immediately think someone who claims to have a degree is full of shit about their degree. It takes a special kind of person to blatantly lie about an easily verifiable fact. I assume that any capable HR department is going to call the college registrar when conducting the background check. In the Yahoo CEO case, I don't think he started listing computer science until after getting the job. Fizzbuzz failures happen because people don't code every day and can lose their edge in just a few weeks or someone did a degree that has very little practical material. Obviously, having a degree doesn't mean someone is a great programmer. Its just another tool to form a basis of trust. Obviously a lot of people do lie their way in and do nothing or do negative work. That's why a lot of companies are so awful to work at if one is serious about their profession and actually trying to move things forward.