Subj : Re: Software Job Market Myths
To   : comp.programming,comp.software-eng
From : CTips
Date : Fri Jul 01 2005 10:39 pm

Prafulla Harpanhalli wrote:
> CTips wrote:
> 
>>3. Check their problem solving skills (give them small problems, and see
>>how many hints are needed to get the answer).
> 
> Absolutely..
> Now here the skill and expertise of the interviewer himself is put to
> test. I personally feel that the interviwer should spend some time on
> studying the resume of the interviwee to come up with some really nice
> questions.
> 
> 
>>7. Look for a solid mathematical/CS education
> 
> Math..? Recently my friend (a commerce grad originally) could crack
> some really nice questions and programming puzzels in a series of
> interviews with Cisco's layer 2 switching group. And regarding math, he
> could derive some closed form equation..
> 
> i really wonder how big a role knowledge of math plays for programming
> jobs that do not require math knowledge.

Its the mental discipline of mathematics which is important. If you can 
prove complex theorems, or deal with the complex abstractions of many 
fields of mathematics you've probably got the mind-set to be a decent 
programmer. It helps, of course, if the field is discrete math/graph 
theory/numerical analysis or something else with immediate applicability 
to the job, but that is secondary.

.