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Discussion on: Should we form a labor union?

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jaakidup profile image
Jaaki

Most of the testing and certifications I've seen have very little to do with your ability as a developer, rather just focusing a tiny piece of non-related code.
And the types of developers vary quite a lot too. ie. the difference between a deeply focused google back-end engineer vs a broad spectrum small business solutions builder. How do you compare the two??

The coding/programming teachers (academics) I've met don't code or build for a living, hardly the type to be the judge of your ability in your field.

So this will be difficult, especially on a global scale, but I actually like the idea, because I've grown terribly allergic to coding tests!

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steveblue profile image
Stephen Belovarich • Edited

It REALLY depends on how the test is administered. I don’t know how many times I’ve had other engineers looking over my shoulder while I’m taking the test. Enough times to crack the joke “What you don’t know the answer?” But seriously for a moment, I’ve seen brilliant people freeze the moment they feel people have the opportunity to be judgemental and the person who is giving the test has no idea how to communicate effectively so it results in just an unpleasant experience for everyone.

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jaakidup profile image
Jaaki

haha, yes. I think those timed online ones are the worst.
The last one I had (sitting at home) just started, then a notification came through about a webinar with Peter Diamandis starting that I had registered for but forgot about. Absolute panic, trying to listen to him talk about solving worldwide problems whilst trying to remember to put 15 return statements in a javascript function!! uuughh

In the previous companies I've been involved with, new recruits would just be thrown into a small parts of the actual work and they would be free to get into the code at their own time. Absolute beginners (fresh out of college etc.) would be brought up to speed over the course of a few weeks to learn the stack etc.