[comp.software-eng] Object oriented software engineers

marc@dumbcat.sf.ca.us (Marco S Hyman) (04/14/91)

In article <1991Apr12.201053.18348@visix.com> amanda@visix.com (Amanda Walker) writes:
 > When I interview someone I'm interested in hiring, I'd rather see
 > a portfolio of their work than what certificates they've earned.

I certainly agree with Amanda on this point... but looking at the code is
not enough.  (Meaning: I've been fooled by looking at code that the
interviewee said s/he wrote.)  Just what makes a "software engineer" seems
open to debate, also.  A typical interview session goes something like:

  "Do you consider yourself a software engineer?"
  "Yes."
  "Why?"
  "Well look at my resume.  I'm not just a programmer.  I write code that
   talks to hardware."

Sigh. I think I'd like to find a few software craftsmen about now.

The one question that does seems to separate the wheat from the chaff is
"define the term: abstract data type."  Even the ones that know all the
current OOP buzz words (without knowing any of the concepts) seem to get
tripped up on this one.

  "Well, you know... They're ABSTRACT!"
-- 
// marc
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