Re:Tell HN: Unpaid home assignments are not ok
by ghaff on Friday August 12, 2022 @12:56PM
(#32441167)
I'd agree with that. Though obviously getting certified in law or medicine is a significantly higher bar than passing some tech industry certification.
Still, if I need someone who knows Linux, something like a current RHCE tells me they have at least some minimal level of competency. (Certs seem to be more of a thing for sysadmin knowledge than general programming however.)
They are useful in that they at least convey a tiny bare minimum level of skill--something many, many software engineering candidates lack. Passing the bar exam for lawyers and the medical board exam for doctors signals at least some minimal knowledge and qualification. They don't tell you the professional's whole story, but enough to allow you to skip the "Where is the patient's knee?" interview questions.
Software desperately need at least some "barest minimum" gate that lets interviewers at least skip the Fizzbuzz questions.