From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.1 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_05,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 10261c,90121986704b5776 X-Google-Attributes: gid10261c,public X-Google-Thread: 10c950,90121986704b5776 X-Google-Attributes: gid10c950,public X-Google-Thread: 109fba,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid109fba,public X-Google-Thread: fdb77,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gidfdb77,public X-Google-Thread: 103376,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 1014db,4873305131bf4d94 X-Google-Attributes: gid1014db,public From: billg@jk.pst.com Subject: Re: Your english sucks, mine is better. Date: 1997/12/01 Message-ID: #1/1 X-Deja-AN: 294321143 References: <34557f2b.1934172@news.mindspring.com> <65iclc$cms$5@darla.visi.com> <65nhvg$q49$1@darla.visi.com> Organization: IDT Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.lang.c,comp.lang.c++,comp.lang.java.advocacy,comp.lang.pascal.ansi-iso,comp.lang.pascal.misc Date: 1997-12-01T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: In article <65nhvg$q49$1@darla.visi.com>, seebs@plethora.net says... > He freely admitted he couldn't program if you asked him - after > he got the job, and as long as a manager wasn't around. Oops! I've done that too to avoid being pushed into the techie crowd when my main goals/skills/direction are higher level business manangement. C++ on a resume can really hurt the manager. But your instance may be authentic. I think to prove a point, some will give the exceptions as the examples, though. Really? People would _lie_ to program? Go figure! ;) > > >Given enough time, I'll bet they could have too. > > After watching him for about two and a half years, I didn't think so. > This is a guy who spent *weeks* writing code to convert DD/MM/YY dates > to "November 25, 1997". Not to mention that he decided to use YY after > 1996. I believe it took him six months to write a program which selected > file names and ran a conversion program. He was simply *not a programmer*. > Whatever it is that makes programmers go, he didn't have it. > > I think he would have been a fairly good tech writer. Or perhaps a designer. I have found that good designers can program somewhat, but they are just not efficient enough at it (always looking for a better design?) to be on the assembly line. Always check this capability first if the position is open or can use augmentation. > I believe there are people who really just aren't getting any better. > I believe some of them will lie about this, because they'd rather have > jobs than not. I've had developers who weren't anywhere near superstars also. But they should be able to work too. It takes all kinds. Some just need more facilitation. For the critical short-term project, I can see where there is a "fit" problem though. > > I've been in large companies, and I've seen sales reps say "well, I retire > in spring, and I'm going to get a pretty decent pension, so I'm not talking > to any customers any more. Don't try to give me accounts, I'm not taking > any." (After some study, they realized the company's firing procedure would > take longer than it would be before he retired and got the pension, so they > gave up and paid him to stay home for six months.) > > Yeah, employers suck - but so do at least *some* employees. Eventually I may encounter one too, then perhaps I will know. Most are just products of their environment. And god knows the IT industry is less than the moral or ethical high ground. AP