[flushit]

You probably can.

But the criticism was that the job ad was not requiring knowledge of how to write code, and I was pointing out that the degree requirement (strict or not) indicates that that's not true.

If you don't have the required degree but can demonstrate equivalent skills, then that's fine. Kudos to the company about being flexible on the formalities side.

[dijit]

I think you misunderstand.

There is a line that is universally ignored in job ads. This is that line.

if I showed no ability to write a for loop or a linkedlist. I could still get that job.

I see it time and time again, it's like we must add that line to job descriptions, but it's never checked, never verified and ultimately it serves no purpose. There will be no difference between someone with a BSc in CompSci, an MSc in CompSci or no degree at all.

The thing that will get you that job, likely, is discussing how http works, how tcp works and perhaps something to do with exit codes.

[flushit]

My experience with sw eng job interviews is very different and I've been interrogated quite intensely about data structures, design patterns, computer architecture internals, and have done the same on the other side of the table many times. It brings a good perspective on whether the candidate knows their way around the box and has a deep understand of what happens inside it. And I also appreciate if my colleagues know how an L2 cache works, what an RB tree is and what's good and bad about microservices. Whether that's been acquired through a university degree or through self-learning or experience on the job, I don't care though.

Might not be true for this particular posting.

[danwee]

If I'm interviewing person A and person B, all things being equal, I'll go for the one that has a degree on CompSci (or equivalent). That's it. It's not that difficult. Obviously if person A doesn't have a degree but knows much more (based on the tech interview) than person B who has one, I'll go for person A.