The overwhelming majority of "programmers" can't program.

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The overwhelming majority of "programmers" can't program.

What do you think?

43	The overwhelming majority of "programmers" can't program. By Ryan on 2010-02-22 \| 8 comments

2		Ryan \| 2010-02-22
		Well, guys, I think I'm going to go look for a job as a programmer. In case you didn't see the linked article (the link text was "write a simple program", I think), 99 out of 100 applicants could not write a program that does something like the following: Write a function that prints the numbers 1 through 100 to the screen If the number is a multiple of three, write the word "fizz" to the screen instead of the number If the number is a multiple of five, write the word "buzz" to the screen. If the number is a multiple of both, write the words "fizz, buzz" to the screen. If you cannot do this, well...wow. Reply to this

2		Natalie \| 2010-02-22
		I know they're important but I hate programming interviews. I can usually solve the problems pretty quick but I get all tangled up trying to remember syntax with someone staring at me. Reply to this

1		enkidu \| 2010-02-22
		From the sound of this article, you're probably doing a lot better than you think you are. In fact, did you see the article a few weeks ago? "The Three Types of Knowledge" or something of that nature? The fact that you don't like them is probably a sign that you know what you're doing. Somebody who doesn't know, wouldn't know where they were messing up, or even that they were messing up at all. Reply to this

1		Natalie \| 2010-02-22
		That was a great article. :) I do think there's a point at which you have to turn around and be confident in your solution, though. I really could use practice with this type of interview, last week at one I couldn't seem to decide which language I was using and ended up having to rewrite the whole thing to make it at all legible. The interviewer was really nice and patient, but I bet the other interviewees were quicker (maybe I just find it hard to believe anyone coming out of a CS program couldn't program--how could you pass a single class??) Reply to this

1		Travers \| 2010-02-22
		Last time I checked, CS did not try and teach you how to program. That's just a side-effect. Reply to this

1		Natalie \| 2010-02-22
		They don't teach it except in a few intro classes, but every project and homework in all the other CS classes require it--at least for my program. Reply to this

2		Travers \| 2010-02-22
		Heh, if they can't program, then they sure as hell don't know anything about algorithms, data structures, etc... Reply to this

2		enkidu \| 2010-02-22
		I really don't think that programmers are ever going to get the respect that they deserve. A skilled woodworker, for example; people respect them, look up to them, admire their work. A skilled coder? Well...they're just a cog in the machine. Reply to this