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I would hire the one with the degree (in computer science), absolutely no question about it. The person with 2 years experience or certificate with the exact sk

I would hire the one with the degree (in computer science), absolutely no question about it. The person with 2 years experience or certificate with the exact skill might be able to do 80% of the work (the easy stuff), like writing some front end code, but as soon as they encounter anything requiring more than basic understanding of computer science and math and some scripting skills, they'd be stumped most likely. Not only that, but someone with extensive math knowledge will see math and elegant solutions where others would see nothing. University is a great place for people to learn the fundamentals in a structured way and learn how to learn. While a few very talented and motivated folks can pick it up themselves by reading, the vast majority can't reach that point by themselves (me included). (Note, I'm only talking about sciences and engineering, those are the only ones I know anything about)

nathos 13y ago
I would hire the one with the most impressive GitHub account.
joshyeager 13y ago
I have hired both types of candidate. In my opinion, a four-year college degree is worth roughly the same amount as two years of real-world experience. There are exceptions on both sides, but on average four years of college seems to be roughly equivalent to two years of work experience. Someone with college experience will probably know more theory, which is useful. But they rarely realize that large projects are significantly different from their college work, and they don't understand why you have to do what your users want instead of what the theory says is correct. So when I hire someone with a degree and no experience, I know my team will need to teach them those things. On the other hand, people without college degrees can get into a lot of trouble if they don't learn the theory behind their work (especially algorithmic complexity). So when I hire someone without a degree, I know my team will need to teach them those things.

nathos 13y ago

I would hire the one with the most impressive GitHub account.

joshyeager 13y ago

I have hired both types of candidate. In my opinion, a four-year college degree is worth roughly the same amount as two years of real-world experience. There are exceptions on both sides, but on average four years of college seems to be roughly equivalent to two years of work experience. Someone with college experience will probably know more theory, which is useful. But they rarely realize that large projects are significantly different from their college work, and they don't understand why you have to do what your users want instead of what the theory says is correct. So when I hire someone with a degree and no experience, I know my team will need to teach them those things. On the other hand, people without college degrees can get into a lot of trouble if they don't learn the theory behind their work (especially algorithmic complexity). So when I hire someone without a degree, I know my team will need to teach them those things.