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iam
Aug 5, 2011
I'm soon to be applying for developer roles after finishing a one year MSc in CompSci, and whilst we covered sorts etc in algorithms, all this talk of algorithms is making me :psyduck:

I'd call myself quite a competent Java developer, but ask me to implement a sorting algorithm off the top of my head in an interview and I'll probably just break down there and then

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iam
Aug 5, 2011
My undergrad was in Computer Networks, so other than a worthles Java course that we did during that, the first CS theory I've been introduced to was in the algorithms module this year.

Dare I say it, 'bare-bones' algorithms don't really interest me, developing solutions/systems does, maybe that's bad :shrug:

For example, I'm comfortable with:
- OOP principles
- I was raised by Josh Bloch and a healthy regimen of Effective Java
- JUnit unit testing
- Efficient logging mechanisms using log4j etc
- Scheduling
- Concurrency
- JPA and other parts of J2EE
etc etc etc

And have a good number of projects under my belt, a couple commercial, a couple academic, and a good few 'hobby projects', that demonstrate the above - but as I say, quicksort, mergesort - in an interview :psyduck:

That's not to say I couldn't knock up a palindrome algorithm, a linked list, or a basic sorting mechanism for an int array - but talking about the merits in terms of O complexity of one algo from another...

Maybe it's time to pick up a book and brush up

iam fucked around with this message at 23:55 on Aug 22, 2011

iam
Aug 5, 2011
Well when I say comfortable I mean I just make every class extend Thread and main just kicks everything off at once in an orgy of computation :smug:

iam
Aug 5, 2011
Cheers for the feedback - on that basis, what sort of job titles would I be looking at for the former? And am I ever likely to get a job in IBM/Google/MS/'interesting' big corporate doing the more high-level stuff as I described? :ohdear:

iam
Aug 5, 2011
I'd guess that was the distinction I was looking for - i.e. a software engineer at Google and a software engineer at IBM are going to be doing very different things. (As far as I know Google always advertises its positions as 'Software Engineer'?).

For example, a friend is an extremely good software engineer, knows Java inside out, and is on nearly £100k final salary for doing what he does. Ask him to knock up a Quicksort algorithm, or what its time complexity is, and I think it's safe to say he wouldn't have a clue.

I guess the answer is don't apply for jobs at Google; but then surely they must have a need for application/solution/system builders and not just algorithm gods.

iam
Aug 5, 2011
Maybe I'm being naive, but an engineer engineers solutions to problems, typically technical ones? :downs:

Regardless, take for example a software engineering course, you learn principles, skills and techniques that can be implemented in any language and cross domains (admittedly I'm generalising) - I don't see how that differs too much from other engineering disciplines?

iam
Aug 5, 2011
Similarly, my brother is a 'Drainage Engineer', and designs and fits drainage systems for residential/commercial/industrial customers - he isn't certificated, nor is it a requirement that he is.

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iam
Aug 5, 2011
Trevor Train, Trainee Train Trainer

AMIDOINGITRITE?

iam fucked around with this message at 13:19 on Aug 27, 2011

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