Comments on: He’s a YASD (Yet Another Struts Developer)

By: technical interviewing woes « Jason Shepherd

technical interviewing woes « Jason Shepherd — Fri, 03 Nov 2006 16:31:17 +0000

[...] Matt Secoske has already blogged about the YASD phenomenon, and he is spot-on. But, let me say that I’m appalled at the number of programmers I interview that only know one programming language: Java. And, their knowledge of Java isn’t even that deep, very cursory at best, with “7+ years experience” in Java! How does this happen? When I graduated from college, I knew 15 different programming languages. Many of them I picked up casually; it’s not like I was collecting languages like trading cards (things like Perl, Awk, and Sed just became a necessity when I was a UNIX guy). I know that 15 languages isn’t the norm, but come on, just Java? Being exposed to different programming languages (and paradigms) makes one a better programmer by understanding how to solve problems in a variety of ways, some more efficient than others. When I have candidates “write” code over the phone, it is often the most wasteful and inefficient code I have ever seen. A simple perusal through the Essential Java Language Programming Guide would correct a lot of these problems, but these candidates avoid learning like the plague (unless of course their employer is paying for them to go to some expensive training class… then they’re game). [...]

By: thoughts.on.code :: Kick ass (ass kickin?) interview/screening questions

thoughts.on.code :: Kick ass (ass kickin?) interview/screening questions — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 03:02:43 +0000

[...] Found this brilliant post on programmer screenings tonight on Steve Yegge’s old blog. Even though they are a few years old, these questions pack a serious technical challenge for anyone who doesn’t know their stuff in a broad range of programming kung-fu. Steve covers all of the basics (OO, scripting, data structures, real code, and cs fundamentals, recursion). The questions are designed to balance out each other, so you don’t get a YASD, and you don’t get a Perl hacker (unless they are really good). [...]

By: Matt

Matt — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 11:23:42 +0000

Jeff - your partially correct. We are looking for above average developers. My main criteria for an above average developer is that they care enough about their career/profession to be improving themselves outside of their comfort zone. Initiative, drive. They do not have to be geniuses but they need to “get it” and have enough interest to look outside of their cubicle every once in a while.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Sat, 22 Apr 2006 11:02:43 +0000

The most important thing in hiring someone is to assess the needs of the company and find someone with skills that match those requirements. Genius developers with adequate social skills who live and breath technology are few and far between.

The kind of developer you seem to be looking for will not, I suspect, be content to merely develop practical applications for a real-world business, but would rather spend company time exploring the ins and outs of the latest buzz word framework than delivering software on time and within budget.