NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/lang/c++-part1/749

Internet Message Format | 1996-08-06 | 3.7 KB

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From: [e-mail] (Tom Donaldson)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: Difficulty hiring people with C++ experience.
Date: 6 Jan 1996 13:38:21 GMT
Organization: PSI Public Usenet Link
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In article <[e-mail]>
[e-mail] (Glenn Mandelkern) writes:

> Many great programmers have a large stock of reference books and FAQ's,
> can you bring those to an interview?

Bring them all in yer head.  In fact, ask the interviewers if
they have heard of some of the cooler concepts, technologies,
books, authors, etc.  I personally am looking for folks that
know things that I DO NOT.  People from whom I can learn.  There
is one of me already ... I don't need any clones of myself or of
the other folks already on the team.  What I need is people that
will help the team stay abreast of the industry; people who
bring more than just 9-5 grunt labor to the table.

I am appalled at how many folks I have interviewed over the past
few years who either (1) do NO professional reading outside of
work, or (2) whose outside reading is limited to Microsoft
manuals (not exactly educational material).  When asked about
"programming by contract", the response is "Huh?"  The
difference between dynamic and static languages?  "Static
languages shock you if you shuffle your feet, and dynamic
languages are more energetic?"  What are your professional
development goals for the next five years?  "To have a job and
have lots of free time to play Sega games."

It reminds me of talking to a consultant at a previous job whose
contract was not being renewed.  She was upset that "you folks
straight out of school have all the advantages ... you are up to
date on all the new stuff."  I nearly laughed ... I pointed out
to her that I was fast approaching middle age, and had NOT just
gotten out of school.  She looked surprised and asked how I
managed to keep up to date with new technologies in computing.
My answer: "I read books."

She claimed that she did not have time to read.  Which
eventually resulted in her having LOTS of time to read.  Funny
thing is, she was not working any longer hours than I was, and
SHE was not a single parent; it is not a matter of time as much
as of interest.  Last I heard, she had switched from computing
to real estate.

I think something has changed over the past 5-10 years in
computing.  It used to be that folks who went into programming
did so because of a passion for computing, and were considered
socially unacceptable geeks, nerds.  Somewhere along the line,
the run of the mill student noticed that there were good paying
jobs in computing, and that demand was growing.  Now we are
getting those folks: they are not really interested in the
computing industry, only in getting a job, getting a pay check.
They are 9-5'ers who seem shocked that anyone would even think
of reading something that might look like a text book unless
required to do so.  "Hey dude, I already graduated ... which way
is the beach?"

Oops!  Did not mean to get so carried away.  I am becoming very
concerned about the difficulty in finding PROFESSIONAL
programmers, however.  It really does seem to be THE limiting
factor in producing high quality, industrial strength, software.

Oh well, the search goes on.

Regards,
Tom
----------------------------
Tom Donaldson
[e-mail]
Day: [phone]