Are You a Blue-Collar Or White-Collar Developer?

jammag writes "Some developers have gone to four-year universities, where they've also studied subjects like history and sociology, while other coders go to vocational schools and focus purely on writing great software. So why, asks a longtime developer, is there a stigma attached to not having a four-year degree, when 'blue collar' coders might be better trained? Why does the software industry keep emphasizing this difference — and generally giving better pay to four-year grads? Isn't being a developer about real skill level, not the piece of paper on the wall?"

gotta filter the applicants somehow

[petes_PoV]

When you get dozens of applications for a single position there's got to be some pre-interview filtering - otherwise people would waste all their time (no matter which side of the desk you sit on) interviewing. After you've discarded the poorly spelt and punctuated offerings and before throwing the pile into the air[1] you might as well try one more layer of objective selection. What could be better than preferring people who've got more education?

[1] once observed: the best way to select a candidate is to throw all the CVs (american: resumes) into the air. The one(s) that stick to the ceiling get hired. After all we want "lucky" people working here.

Re:Slaves wear collars

[Anonymous Coward]

I prefer Linux.

Re:It's about social status...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Sounds like you're confusing education with schooling."

We all know dumb people with degree's, my point is just because someone went through school does not guarantee they are any good at what they do or that they learned much of anything while they were there.

The degree is about handing out marks of status, in my experience with people someone with a masters is not really better then someone with a bachelors. One simply had more persistance, endurance/ability to cheat amd money to pursue a mark of higher status.

Indeed. Do you happen to have one?

Re:Slaves wear collars

[Hognoxious]

I code in the nude, you insensitive clod!!!!

Re:proofreading for the college graduate?

[Hognoxious]

How does one "queue" awkward silence?

You tell it to get in line behind nervous ball-scratching and red face.

Re:Slaves wear collars

[Deagol]

A telecommuter I hope?

Re:It's about social status...

[Anonymous Coward]

And that was confirmed when I entered the industry and began interviewing candidates who had calculus degrees, but couldn't code worth crap.

You mean they actually had a Bachelors of Calculus Degree on their resume? That's a red flag - right up there with the Celcius Degree.

Re:gotta filter the applicants somehow

[wik]

Let me guess, you inadvertently also found the candidates who eat candy constantly while at their desks.

Re:Slaves wear collars

[Opportunist]

Whether you should hope is hard to determine without pics.

Re:Algorithms

[lennier]

"An english degree helps you write in the same way that a history degree helps you change the world."

Your ideas intrigue me and I would like to enrol for a PhD in History at your institution.

Preferably sometime with zeppelins.

Re:No.

[hemp]

So your evidence that Google hires applicants without degrees is the fact that you don't have a degree and Google didn't hire you?

Hmmm....back to Boolean maths for you!

Re:It's a trick question

[nedlohs]

No, they're about to go bankrupt. Not sure why.