Someone who can talk through a problem, ask questions and think critically. I know HN hates the "consulting" type interview questions; but I find for jr devs its a great barometer of how they would react in the real world to a problem they were unfamiliar with. Ie: how much would you charge me to wash every window in the city? I don't care about the total price, I care they ask and answer the questions, well how many buildings, how long would it take to do one window, how many different building types are there. I want to see them take what looks to be an insurmountable problem, and break it down in to small manageable problems. If they can do that, they can reason about any bug or feature on a system they are not familiar with. The only "wrong" answers are if someone blurts out a number without thinking, or someone who just shrugs and goes, I have no idea how to do that.
Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
11–20 of 40 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#12I am a developer without a degree and transitioned from IT into development. I am in my last year of my Undergrad in CS now. What you need more than anything are skills. Ranging from networking knowledge to having a good command on linux. In addition you have to be able to program in Python, Java, JavaScript, C. You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and to top it all of un…
Lets go through this one by one: In addition you have to be able to program in Python, Java, JavaScript, C. This is objectively false. To expect a junior developer to know all these is unrealistic, plain and simple. If you have working knowledge of one or two programming languages and have an appetite to learn you are good to go. You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and t…
Agree with your points, and want to add that I've been in the professional software world for 7 or 8 years now and I don't have an active working knowledge of Python, Java, or C. I do have Objective-C, Swift, PHP, and JavaScript. I can hack together some Java or C, and I can recognize Python. I think asking for full working knowledge of 4 different languages is a bit much for a Junior, or even Mid position. Ability to apply knowledge to a language is more important than knowing the ins and outs of a bunch of them from the get go.
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#13I have a question for interviewers: how much, if any, white boarding do you have the interviewee do for a front end junior position? And what are you looking for - memorization of common problems/solutions? ability to think through problem? something else? As someone who has pretty poor memorization and does poor on tests in general - this portion of interviewing gives me the most anxiety.
We don't use any whiteboarding questions. There is a coding component of our interview process, but it's all done on a laptop.
Our goal is to test like you work, so you have an IDE, access to Google and StackOverflow, and when we ask you to implement an algorithm (like QuickSort) we link to the Wikipedia page in the instructions.
We've found that the ability to memorize is basically useless is identifying good candidates, but the ability to implement when given proper instructions is really valuable.
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#14I have a question for interviewers: how much, if any, white boarding do you have the interviewee do for a front end junior position? And what are you looking for - memorization of common problems/solutions? ability to think through problem? something else? As someone who has pretty poor memorization and does poor on tests in general - this portion of interviewing gives me the most anxiety.
We don't use any whiteboarding questions. There is a coding component of our interview process, but it's all done on a laptop. Our goal is to test like you work, so you have an IDE, access to Google and StackOverflow, and when we ask you to implement an algorithm (like QuickSort) we link to the Wikipedia page in the instructions. We've found that the ability to memorize is basically useless is identifying good candid…
This is what I was hoping to hear! Thanks for replying.
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#15I was hired as a junior developer, without a degree, with the following things:
- A personal blog
- roughly 20 personal projects that I've worked on throughout my lifetime as a hobbyist, most of which weren't very complete but demonstrated my passion
- A willingness to learn
- A good attitude
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#16I am a developer without a degree and transitioned from IT into development. I am in my last year of my Undergrad in CS now. What you need more than anything are skills. Ranging from networking knowledge to having a good command on linux. In addition you have to be able to program in Python, Java, JavaScript, C. You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and to top it all of un…
Lets go through this one by one: In addition you have to be able to program in Python, Java, JavaScript, C. This is objectively false. To expect a junior developer to know all these is unrealistic, plain and simple. If you have working knowledge of one or two programming languages and have an appetite to learn you are good to go. You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and t…
For the work it may be true, but there are lots of interviews that screen and filter on these kinds of questions. The other side of the gate may totally allow for learning and growth, but the gate itself is usually not as forgiving.
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#17(Optional: Where do I ask:) Who's hiring Jr. Devs? Because as far as being passionate to learn (and knowing some of the basics of .NET flavored development), I'd like to grow my skillset beyond that of IT Generalist.
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#18I am a developer without a degree and transitioned from IT into development. I am in my last year of my Undergrad in CS now. What you need more than anything are skills. Ranging from networking knowledge to having a good command on linux. In addition you have to be able to program in Python, Java, JavaScript, C. You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and to top it all of un…
> You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and to top it all of understand algorithm analysis to judge the efficiency of the code you write or look at.
While it's true that you need to know how to judge efficient code, the bit about data structures is HR bullshit. If the only indicator about an organization's coding styles during the interview is a bunch of cargo culted questions from HackerRank, then you should think about whether you really want to work there or not.
Remember that hiring is a two way street. As much as you're offering them something, they're offering you a paycheck (among other things). Don't accept a bad deal just because their "innovative".
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#19I am a developer without a degree and transitioned from IT into development. I am in my last year of my Undergrad in CS now. What you need more than anything are skills. Ranging from networking knowledge to having a good command on linux. In addition you have to be able to program in Python, Java, JavaScript, C. You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and to top it all of un…
Lets go through this one by one: In addition you have to be able to program in Python, Java, JavaScript, C. This is objectively false. To expect a junior developer to know all these is unrealistic, plain and simple. If you have working knowledge of one or two programming languages and have an appetite to learn you are good to go. You also have to understand data structures like linked lists, queues, b-trees..., and t…
I did not mean to imply being an expert in all the languages listed, but having some knowledge of them and being able to write code.
I also think that an understanding of data structures is required to be able to identify the best way to deal with data in terms of processing and storage.
It is equally false to say none of what I mentioned is required. There is a broad spectrum between your statement and mine, and the truth is somewhere in between. The better prospect for a job is in the area of knowledge though I hope we can agree on that.
Re: Ask HN: What is the skillset required to be employable as jr dev?
#20Resourcefulness. Being able to get things done.
Curiosity. Always wanting to learn more.
Growth Oriented. Constantly learning.
Humility. Knowing when to say, I don't know and ask for help.
Pride. Having a decent ego, wanting to be the best and showing it by putting in the work.