[michaelochurch]

If we're talking about someone that passed the software engineering PE, then yes, I think they get plenty of (well-deserved) respect.

(Edit: On first read, I didn't know what the PE was. I thought you were just talking about the typical tech-company interview process.)

Difficult interviews (which many focused on, more than I did in the original article) aren't the problem. In fact, I think that difficult interviews are generally a good thing. My problem is that passing the difficult interview doesn't necessarily confer respect.

If I have to spend a whole day at a whiteboard proving my intelligence, fine. I'm confident that I'll pass. If after proving myself, I'm still offered 0.05% (at 50 people) and no relocation package, then I'm going to be pissed. I've already proved myself qualified for a real job with a real package, so either come up with one, or don't waste my time in the first place.

Challenging interviews are a good thing. Challenging interviews with no upside (i.e. even if you're smart, you still get the default shitty/take-advantage-of-clueless-people-in-their-20s engineer offer) are a total waste of time.