Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by bencollier49 3854 days ago
This matches my experience. I was trying to hire a junior programmer, and got someone in for interview who ostensibly had a first-class CS degree from a Russell Group university, yet could not explain to me what Functional Programming involved. He didn't even recognise the term.

(Incidentally, the university refused to corroborate his degree, on the grounds that it would be a breach of the Data Protection Act, which boggled my mind).
2 comments
teh_klev 3854 days ago
> junior programmer

> could not explain to me what Functional Programming involved

See that first term, give him/her a break.

I've worked with experienced devs with many year's experience who couldn't explain the term functional programming, yet practice it every day. Just because you don't know the fancy programming term du jour, doesn't mean you aren't capable or competent.

Turns out I've been using the functional programming paradigm since 2001. It wasn't until six years later I discovered there was a name for it.

link
lloyd-christmas 3854 days ago
From a non-CS degree perspective (on the hiring side), it seems that CS undergrad is meant to produce CS professors. Most (yes, MOST) have never touched anything higher than C++. While fundamentals are great, teaching them to the exclusion of immediately tangible skills does a disservice to people who are effectively paying $200k for a ticket into the working world. The reason we consider boot campers is because they typically have a work background demonstrating an ability to be useful as well as a recent educational background demonstrating an ability and willingness to pick up foreign tasks.
link