Speaking as someone who's just been an inteviewee, I've been struck by how basic the technical interviews I've had have been. Boyle's Law? Could've answered that coming out of A-level. Would've answered it better, in fact.
I guess that's the point - still, it's rather dispiriting.
I have a terrible time remembering which is which among Charles and Boyles (just a memory thing - I know what they describe), so I just tend to remember the General Gas Equation and always work from that.
I re-read the article, and whilst I like the idea of a "shop window" app, not all of us are app-writers. On some stuff I've had my hand in, my work is complete before the user has even realised they hit the "on" button. In fact, if they ever see my work, something very bad indeed has gone wrong!
We've just recently hired a guy who's one of those really impressive people for the first hour you know them i.e during the interview, but who after a longer-term getting to know you period of actually working with them, turn out to be scarily incompetent. And worse, still brimming with that confidence you mistook for competency in the interview - it's getting harder and harder to gently explain why all their code is wrong (last time it turned into a Panto-style argument about how parameters are passed in code) and easier and easier to just delete it and start from scratch. Hopefully, just hopefully he'll realise he's a bit rubbish and just start doing what he's told. Grrrr.
What's most annoying is that I'm supposed to be the nice, friendly, kind, give-the-guy-a-break kind of people, and I can see myself turning into a code-Nazi. Just yesterday, I sent a frosty mail reminding him how our naming conventions are organised and asking him to tidy up his code...Arrrrghhh! I'm turning into the Thing I Used To Hate Most!
Speaking as someone who's just been an inteviewee, I've been struck by how basic the technical interviews I've had have been. Boyle's Law? Could've answered that coming out of A-level. Would've answered it better, in fact.
ReplyDeleteI guess that's the point - still, it's rather dispiriting.
I have a terrible time remembering which is which among Charles and Boyles (just a memory thing - I know what they describe), so I just tend to remember the General Gas Equation and always work from that.
ReplyDeleteMe too, actually.
ReplyDeleteAnyway - back to the point.
ReplyDeleteJust get 'em to draw a circle - that sorts the men from the boys.
(or is that showing my age?)
I re-read the article, and whilst I like the idea of a "shop window" app, not all of us are app-writers.
ReplyDeleteOn some stuff I've had my hand in, my work is complete before the user has even realised they hit the "on" button.
In fact, if they ever see my work, something very bad indeed has gone wrong!
We've just recently hired a guy who's one of those really impressive people for the first hour you know them i.e during the interview, but who after a longer-term getting to know you period of actually working with them, turn out to be scarily incompetent. And worse, still brimming with that confidence you mistook for competency in the interview - it's getting harder and harder to gently explain why all their code is wrong (last time it turned into a Panto-style argument about how parameters are passed in code) and easier and easier to just delete it and start from scratch. Hopefully, just hopefully he'll realise he's a bit rubbish and just start doing what he's told. Grrrr.
ReplyDeleteWhat's most annoying is that I'm supposed to be the nice, friendly, kind, give-the-guy-a-break kind of people, and I can see myself turning into a code-Nazi. Just yesterday, I sent a frosty mail reminding him how our naming conventions are organised and asking him to tidy up his code...Arrrrghhh! I'm turning into the Thing I Used To Hate Most!
Are coders worth it?
ReplyDeleteIn today’s world, web developers have it all: money, perks, freedom, respect. But is there value in what we do?