Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Ask Slashdot: What Portion of Developers Are Bad At What They Do?

Posted by Soulskill on from the very-small-shell-scripts dept.

ramoneThePoolGuy writes: We are looking to fill a senior developer/architect position in our firm. I am disappointed with the applicants thus far, and quite frankly it has me worried about the quality of developers/engineers available to us. For instance, today I asked an engineer with 20+ years of experience to describe to me the basic process of public/private key encryption. This engineer had no clue. I asked another applicant a similar question: "Suppose you wanted to send me a file with very sensitive information, how would you encrypt it in such a way that I would decrypt it?" The person started off by asking me if it was an excel file, a PDF, etc. In general, I'm finding that an overwhelming number of developers I've interviewed have poor understanding of key concepts, especially when it comes to securing data. Are other firms experiencing this same dilemma in finding qualified applicants? (Quite frankly it scares me that some of these developers are building sites that need to be secure)"

4 of 809 comments (clear)

  1. Physical encryption. by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Suppose you wanted to send me a file with very sensitive information, how would you encrypt it in such a way that I would decrypt it?"

    I'd use a cross-cut shredder, then send it to you in a paper bag along with some Scotch tape. (You didn't specify how easy it needs to be to decrypt, especially if I include some random shredded pages in the mix.)

    Works for most types of files: Excel, PDF, etc...

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  2. About half are below average.... by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Funny

    And about half are above average.

  3. Re:But where/when does one explicitly learn securi by Lunix+Nutcase · · Score: 5, Funny

    You learn it on your own time at your own expense. Duh. You aren't one of those "freeloaders" that expect their employer to invest any of their time or money in the growth and career development of their employees do you?

  4. Re:It's a vast field.... by lgw · · Score: 5, Funny

    You aren't evaluating candidates. You are making a common interviewing mistake and fishing for specific answers. You (wrongly) assume that a matching answer is a good answer.

    To put it another way, "what do I have in my pocket?" is not a legitimate riddle!

    --
    Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.