It#039;s All Just Bits

I was recently interviewing, and found that while some things have changed in the fourteen years since I last jumped companies, a lot is still the same. Recruiters still can barely spell Java or C++, let alone adequately screen a developer with those skills. Still, they (and the pointy-haired bosses working with them) are able to dream up a litany of all the hot technologies they just read about in Business Week magazine. Good luck actually finding someone with all of those qualifications (and who is able and willing to do the work for $50K ;-). I#039;ve never been able to pass this recruiter hurdle, however, because I tend to work on whatever project is most needed at the time, rather than on what up-and-coming technologies might beef up my resume. What#039;s kept me employed is a network of people who know that an engineer who can contribute to a team creating solid products is much more important than having someone who knows the hot technology of the month. And a belief we share is that it#039;s much easier for an engineer to learn a new language, platform, framework, whatever, than it is to turn some buzzword-compliant tech wannabe into an engineer. Happily, my new employer, Google, understands this difference; that#039;s why they are looking for engineers who are good bit-slingers since, let#039;s face it, they have a LOT of bits to sling. I think the difference is that real engineers know what#039;s under the hood for ...

Date: September, 02 2008
Url: http://www.java.net/blog/2008/09/01/its-all-just-bits

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