[binarymax]

I understand where you are coming from, but the dentist analogy does not fit.

Software development is a creative endeavor in a constantly changing field, and unless I'm asking my dentist to do experimental tooth enhancements, I wouldn't consider her job nearly as creative.

I would never hire (and have never hired) a designer who didn't have a portfolio. I would never hire a developer who didn't have any code to show me. Most code available to show is only open source these days - as companies don't want their employees showing proprietary source to 3rd parties.

[asdfologist]

> I would never hire a developer who didn't have any code to show me.

I would never work for such an employer.

[binarymax]

Fair enough. But how am I supposed to know if you can actually write code and do the job?

I've hired over 40 people and given hundreds of interviews over the course of my career. I learned early on that unless I can see some examples, then it is a random draw. The truth is that people give false impressions of their abilities on their resume (whether intentional or not).

As a development manager who still writes code, I have deep perspective of both sides of the table. I would never work for an employer who didn't want to see any code - because who knows what kind of talent I'd be working with?

[DustinOfDenver]

Agree - code (the thing they built) + passion (they built it because they wanted too) + inquisitive (found a problem and developed an answer)

A person doesn't have to posses all these things to write good code. But they would be a great fit on the teams I like to work with.