The latest trend for tech interviews: Days of unpaid homework

That is why I advocate for a hypothetical "bar exam" for the software programming profession. I also posted a question concerning that: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16702389

Going through a series of technical filters is not a problem in and of itself. The problem is that each company has its own set of filters, many times with skills that don't necessarily transfer to other interviews.

With the "bar exam" approach, you only need to pass 1 exam for N number of companies, leverage that to fast-track through a company interview. With the current approach, you need to take N exams for N companies, and return to square one if you fail. There is no extra layer of validation that lets you keep a "ahead" placement in these interviews. Company specific interviews should focus on basic soft skills, and if they mesh well with the team.

I'm an experienced programmer- not yet considered senior level, but have worked at several companies -and having a hell of a time going through my latest job hunt.

I have been applying for jobs for 3 years straight now, and it's telling that the only offers I've gotten were three short term contract gigs- one from a past employer who's already familiar with my work, and two from small studios with a very informal process where they just looked at my resume and Github projects and with that, they were very convinced that I'm the man for their job. I took these jobs mainly to add more skills and to fill up the gaping time hole in my resume.

But for the "regular" full-time jobs at businesses, big or small, local or on the west coast (I'm a midwesterner), I have not gotten an offer. I've been through many tests and live coding going through a lot of things. Triplebyte expects you to be a speed demon, but at least they give detailed feedback on what you did wrong.

So what is with the saturation of applicants and tendency to make the hiring process slower and slower? That's what these coding tests and interviews do, they make the process slower.

It's not 2009 anymore- unemployment is reasonably low, so this current phenomena of rigorous testing shouldn't happen. More programmers need to discover and embrace the power of collective bargaining.

The whiteboard interview is coding's version of being asked to do a freestyle rap. It's largely orthogonal to creating good code, but it's also a trainable skill that arguably does show something, even if that something is just a willingness to play the game. Whether it's worth seriously training for is another matter.

Cue the music (sung to the tune of Eminem's 8 Mile Road, see https://bit.ly/2iI8tG2) and the scene of a nerd sweating in front of the whiteboard as the interviewers nod their heads to the beat:

Sometimes I just feel like, quittin', I still might Why do I put up this fight, why do I still write (code)?

Sometimes I just hate life, something ain't right Hit the brake lights, case of the stage fright Drawing a blank like

It ain't my fault, great big eyeballs My insides crawl, FizzBuzz I scrawl And I clam up, I just slam shut

Gonna travel this road Gonna show 'em my code My Big-O is so dope the universe will implode (as our hero proudly writes = O(1/n^2) on the board)

etc. Someone can make a viral video; I'm too busy practicing code problems.

Surgeons do different things.

However, CS is close to something else: Economics. People spend 4+ years learning about economics, but don't know shit about how it really works. They found a solution for that: business schools.

CS at a University versus CS at a technical college.

"If you insist on being able to dress the way you want as a means of self expression then you really dont have anything worth expressing."

My initial reaction was to guffaw at the ridiculousness of such a statement. Expression through fashion and attire is pretty much the entire reason we dont all wear the same thing as each other every day. I feel the exact opposite as you: people who dont dress with the awareness that their appearance is a statement to the world they walk into are missing a massive opportunity to affect their day. How people treat you. How people respond to you. Etc.

But since I'm growing less cynical in my old age, I would care to learn more about your perspective if you care to share.

There ought to be a formally-named logical fallacy for the "we shouldn't attempt to fix this problem, because someone somewhere else has it worse than we do" attitude.