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Most people can't FizzBuzz. That's not ridiculous breadth of expertise. My basic filter question was always this: in any language you know, write a function th
by ef4 12y ago
Most people can't FizzBuzz. That's not ridiculous breadth of expertise.
My basic filter question was always this: in any language you know, write a function that reverses a string. No tricks, no gotchas. Any reasonable solution will be discussed briefly and then we'll move on to discuss other things.
But a shocking fraction of people -- even ones with CS degrees from fancy schools -- would spend 30 minutes stuck trying to write that function.
That's what I think of when I hear "can't code their way out of a wet paper bag".
- nradov 12y agoWell what did you expect? CS education is usually mostly theoretical and not about practical code construction. Would you interview a Physics graduate and then complain that she didn't know how to design a bridge? In the early days of computing IBM hired candidates with the right aptitude but zero programming skills and then trained them. It Worked out fine.
- philwelch 12y agoWriting code to reverse a string is more like asking a Physics graduate to calculate how long it takes an object to fall 20 meters once it's dropped. In the year 2014 there's no excuse for having "zero programming skills" if you're looking for a job programming computers. We all have computers, it's not like you can't practice on your own time before expecting someone to pay you for it.
- nradov 12y agoMy point was that there is little correlation between practical code construction skills and possessing a CS degree from a fancy school. If that's what you're looking at then you're focusing on the wrong market signal. And we do have existence proofs that businesses can succeed by hiring candidates with the right aptitude but no programming skills and then training them. For example see IBM a few decades ago or Zoho today. If you don't want to do that then you have no right to complain about the market supply of skilled developers.