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Hmmm, I'm no SQL jockey, rarely deal with it directly, and currently work with MongoDB. I got 5-of-5 on the PostgreSQL flavor of the test but am sure I'd fail
by nwatson 13y ago
Hmmm, I'm no SQL jockey, rarely deal with it directly, and currently work with MongoDB. I got 5-of-5 on the PostgreSQL flavor of the test but am sure I'd fail a whiteboard interview on SQL particulars. Being a generalist I can usually figure things out and think I have an intuitive grasp of issues involved in many systems -- but unfortunately only 30% of workplaces understand that intuition, adaptability, and general experience usually trump specific knowledge.
Fortunately I've landed pretty good jobs in spite of employer myopia, and work for a SV salary and a SV company though I live in a non-tech town in North Carolina. Just venting a frustration.
- mattfenwick 13y agoJust curious -- where did the "30%" figure come from?
- herge 13y agoProbably his intuition.
- nwatson 13y agoA guess, based on my experience and accounts of others here and on other similar forums. The figure could be much different for smaller startups, I've usually joined teams of between 3 and 15 engineers, where the adaptability and learn-as-you-go are more valuable.
- zzzeek 13y agoFiguring things out is great, it's how we all learn, and it's an essential skill. But if you lack curiosity and/or respect for the specifics of the technologies you're deploying, the systems you build by intuition alone will ultimately fail.
- RogerL 13y agoYes, but I suspect his point was "I work with NoSQL, so testing me on my SQL knowledge isn't a very good proxy for my ability to tune a database". If he didn't know the details of MongoDB, and that was in the hot path (let's face it, for many situations it just doesn't matter), then that would be worrying.
- Pamar 13y agoThe problem is that "intuition, adaptability, and general experience" are difficult to test for in the limited time of a job interview.