Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
Oh I've seen a good portion of so-called professional programmers that couldn't code their way out of a paper bag.  I've worked both with them and for them over the last 30 years. |
Agreed 100% - the majority of the programmers I've interviewed throughout my career (30-ish years and counting) have no clue - complete lack of fundamental understanding and skills - the "craft" of programming is totally absent. (And those are the ones who've made it through the screening process before they get to interview - I dread to think what the rest are like.)
That's true of recent graduates as well as experienced candidates - I'm getting heartily fed up of university Computer Science departments which (at least here in the UK) don't regard programming as worth teaching. The focus is on formal logic, lambda calculus etc. which, while clearly interesting and worth study, on its own misses the point - computers have to be programmed, and without the basic skills the rest is fairly pointless. I have interviewed graduates with first class degrees from top-class universities who have proudly proclaimed that they've never written any code. What's the point in that?
/JB