| > "In fact, "build it yourself from scratch" is an anti-pattern in my opinion." In the context of getting things done, that is sometimes true. However, as an employer, I want to know that you: 1) have enough knowledge to build it from scratch if you have to, starting with analyzing the problem and ending with a coded, tested, debugged, and working solution, preferably at least somewhat optimized. 2) have enough knowledge to be able to read the code that you might want to use in [not building it from scratch] and assess it's value, considering A) whether it will meet the actual need, B) whether it will do so at a lower cost than writing it in-house from scratch, C) whether it will meet or exceed performance parameters, D) not introduce more problems than an in-house solution. 3) make a well-informed and reasoned decision between #1 and #2, and not merely be a copy-paste monkey. Doing copy-paste as a regular practice in school eliminates all three of these capabilities. In short, school is different from work, and you need to adhere to different practices. edit: format |