10 Jun, 2009, David Haley wrote in the 21st comment:
Votes: 0
I might have a biased sample but every place I've ever looked at has emphasized understanding and general skills over a particular language. Knowing practical stuff is still a must – as it shows you actually know how to get things done – but the emphasis is on practice, not some toolkit in particular. The philosophy is generally that smart people can be taught new things easily, so high smart people and teach them what they need to know – that way you get more smart people, instead of people who happen to meet some immediate need but might not adapt to something else later on.

I agree though that anybody who thinks they won't have to keep learning is not being realistic. The thing is, though, a proper education in computer science will already teach you that the general concepts are what matter, and one particular syntax is nothing more than the expression of far more general ideas. There are very few concepts that are truly unique to one particular language, even though some languages might make it easier to express those concepts than others.
11 Jun, 2009, quixadhal wrote in the 22nd comment:
Votes: 0
flumpy said:
Runter said:
Well, I think it's just a long road realizing that languages will come and go in your career but the underlying skills you learn should last the ages.


… can someone ring recruitment agencies and tell them that please? Any maybe a few pointy haired bosses while you're at it??


You might also consider telling them that knowing particular versions of Microsoft Operating Systems doesn't make you a "Good" programmer, nor does being able to use a particular office suite, or having a pleasant speaking voice (when you don't do customer support), or looking good in a suit (when you sit in a cubicle all day). :)

It's a bit annoying when you realize that the guys doing the hiring will only hire people they *like*. My favorite was a friend of mine telling me about this network engineer position they filled recently. They interviewed a dozen people, and one stood out as perfect for the job… 100% skill set match, obviously very smart, but apparently he was a bit arrogant and dressed poorly. So, instead they hire the guy who ran cash registers at Cracker Barrel (meaning he could plug rj45 connectors into jacks I guess). Happens all the time.

However, back to the topic. If you're intent on dragging a codebase out of the past, you'll be using C. If, however, you want to write something new, use C++. Your wrists will be less scarred, and you might keep your hair an extra year or two. Really. Every time you have to debug a string pointer in C, a kitten dies. Think of the poor kittens!!!
11 Jun, 2009, Runter wrote in the 23rd comment:
Votes: 0
quixadhal said:
flumpy said:
Runter said:
Well, I think it's just a long road realizing that languages will come and go in your career but the underlying skills you learn should last the ages.


… can someone ring recruitment agencies and tell them that please? Any maybe a few pointy haired bosses while you're at it??


You might also consider telling them that knowing particular versions of Microsoft Operating Systems doesn't make you a "Good" programmer, nor does being able to use a particular office suite, or having a pleasant speaking voice (when you don't do customer support), or looking good in a suit (when you sit in a cubicle all day). :)

It's a bit annoying when you realize that the guys doing the hiring will only hire people they *like*. My favorite was a friend of mine telling me about this network engineer position they filled recently. They interviewed a dozen people, and one stood out as perfect for the job… 100% skill set match, obviously very smart, but apparently he was a bit arrogant and dressed poorly. So, instead they hire the guy who ran cash registers at Cracker Barrel (meaning he could plug rj45 connectors into jacks I guess). Happens all the time.

However, back to the topic. If you're intent on dragging a codebase out of the past, you'll be using C. If, however, you want to write something new, use C++. Your wrists will be less scarred, and you might keep your hair an extra year or two. Really. Every time you have to debug a string pointer in C, a kitten dies. Think of the poor kittens!!!


Yeah. Well, my father always used to say, "It's not the grades you make. It's the hands you shake." and somewhat I've found that to be true. I know for myself networking (not computer related, the social kind.) has helped me stay in good employment. Not to say I don't work hard, but it never hurts. :)
11 Jun, 2009, David Haley wrote in the 24th comment:
Votes: 0
It's perfectly sensible to hire people that you like. After all, you're going to have to work with them. Now, it's a little dumb to hire somebody completely unqualified, but there's nothing wrong with not hiring people who wouldn't be a good culture fit. They'd probably be unhappy in the first place, and it might not be easy for the team to work with them either.

As for dressing properly, well, that's just the rule of the game. Unless clearly told otherwise, you dress rather nicely for a job interview. That's just how it goes. Even if they tell you to be casual, wear slacks and a button-down shirt – "casual" is best interpreted as no tie and no suit jacket/sports coat. It's extremely hard to give a bad impression by dressing up, but all too easy to give one by not dressing up enough. So, really, not dressing well for an interview is just not being smart. Even if it doesn't affect how well you'll plug those cables together, well, that's just how it works and it's a little foolish to try to think you're not subject to the normal rules.

Dress codes aside, I think that the bit about liking people is a completely practical reason for not hiring people. A criterion that we use is basically the following: if you had a big project due in three days for your manager's manager, would you be happy to sit in a room alone with this person and hammer out the solution together all by yourselves? If the answer is no, well, you probably shouldn't hire them.
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