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Please stop the coding challenges

blackentropy.bearblog.dev

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Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#51

Post by anthomtb »

simonw wrote: post #3

> This is like asking a Ruby developer to debug PHP as a test of flexibility. Sounds like an OK test to me. Great (senior) developers should be able to do that kind of thing. Categorizing yourself exclusively as "a Ruby developer" is a career trap.

Most of my development experience is in C/C++ and Python.

Know what I'd do if the interviewer asked me to debug PHP? Pretty much return the question:

"I've never used PHP. Are there logging macros/functions defined somewhere? Where do I see the output? syslog maybe? Is there a debugger of some sort I can use? How do I run each `piece` of code in isolation?"

(I am assuming the job listing did not explicitly mention PHP experience. If it did, both myself and the recruiter would absolutely deserve to fail me for this interview).

Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#52

Post by qwertygnu »

bluedevilzn wrote: post #35
makk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Categorizing yourself exclusively as "a Ruby developer" is a career trap. And a lucrative one at that.

It’s lucrative if your bar is 6 figures. No engineer that makes 7 figures calls themselves a ruby developer with the exception of DHH.

There's no need to be shooting for 7 figures. Get a life

Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#53

Post by derektank »

liontwist wrote: post #4

Remember that in other fields like medicine, finance, academia, and law, getting in involves 5+ years of hoop jumping and commitment signaling that have nothing to do with the final job. We are blessed.

In the case of medicine and law, that's because the government restricts who is legally allowed to work in those professions

Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#54

Post by Xelynega »

bluedevilzn wrote: post #35
makk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Categorizing yourself exclusively as "a Ruby developer" is a career trap. And a lucrative one at that.

It’s lucrative if your bar is 6 figures. No engineer that makes 7 figures calls themselves a ruby developer with the exception of DHH.

Isn't the average for software developers in the US ~100k(before taxes)?

Assuming that high earners are offsetting that to the higher end, most people aren't making 6 figures, and the bar isn't which language they're programming in.

Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#56

Post by epicureanideal »

paxys wrote: post #32
ggregoire wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuinely curious, knowing nothing about this field: does, for example a neurosurgeon with 15 year of experience, when looking for a new place to work, have to pass surgery "challenges", like doing a lumbar puncture in 15 min on a fake body to prove his experience?

No, but the medical profession has a ridiculous amount of gatekeeping, so you can't become a neurosurgeon with 15 years of experience in the first place (there are maybe a few thousand worldwide). On the other hand anyone with a computer and a curious mind is a software engineer.

Does the gatekeeping reliably ensure quality, or just filter down the quantity of doctors?

Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#57

Post by bluedevilzn »

factotum wrote: post #8

I'm fine with tests, but only if companies pay a standard fee (say, $100) for a dev's time. If a company doesn't respect your time during the interview process, it probably won't while you're on the job.

I think you a missed a 0 there.

$100 is insultingly low for a 4 hour assignment.

Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#58

Post by TrackerFF »

liontwist wrote: post #4

Remember that in other fields like medicine, finance, academia, and law, getting in involves 5+ years of hoop jumping and commitment signaling that have nothing to do with the final job. We are blessed.

Dunno, all my "normal" engineering job interviews just revolved around my previous work, going through big picture design problems, and specific things related to the job.

Didn't have to solve PDE's on the whiteboard, or regurgitate integral transformations.

Re: Please stop the coding challenges

#59

Post by sundaeofshock »

bluedevilzn wrote: post #35
makk wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Categorizing yourself exclusively as "a Ruby developer" is a career trap. And a lucrative one at that.

It’s lucrative if your bar is 6 figures. No engineer that makes 7 figures calls themselves a ruby developer with the exception of DHH.

How many developers are out there making $1,000,000/year? Not in the hopes of hitting it big someday off of equity, but actual annual payoff?

How many companies are out there paying $1,000,000/year for devs?

How many devs who can command that kind salary are going to put up with bullshit coding challenges?

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