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Comment by fogetti | Hacker News Reader

Can someone explain to me why isn't it ever part of the discourse to talk about certifications?

Most of the software engineers are certified right from the start when they graduate in university. All these people hold a certification in their hand, namely their diploma which proves that they are actually deemed suitable to hold any software engineering job in the industry.

The whole hiring process could be replaced with a timely renewal of accreditation. Then anyone who passed accreditation could be deemed as passed the technical interview. And then case closed.

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The best programmers i've worked with don't have degrees in computer science, or anything like that. Metallurgy, civil engineering, mathematics.

On the other hand, i've worked with plenty of people with CS degrees from respectable universities who were useless. A degree is not anything like a certificate, and universities simply aren't in the business of actually deeming anyone suitable to hold any software engineering job in the industry.

Even if you fixed this, so that somehow every competent programmer, and only competent programmers, had some certificate from a university, all it would do is let you hire graduate developers easily. It wouldn't let you sort the wheat from the chaff at senior level.

You completely missed the second part of my post: "The whole hiring process could be replaced with a timely renewal of accreditation."

The accreditation would be available to anyone. Just like anyone can become a lawyer in Japan for example. You don't need to hold any diploma for that. Although it might increase your chances to get accredited if you have formal education.

Fair enough, that does address the point about hiring seniors.

But if universities can't currently usefully certify people for fundamental development ability, after having them on campus for years, i don't see how they'd be able to accredit seniors for the more complex skills they need.

BTW, another thing: are you saying that computer science departments are not deemed to properly accredit people in computer science knowledge...? But no-name low-ranking SW engineers in a dim-lit meeting room in front of a whiteboard are good judges of CS knowledge?

I am 100% saying that, yes.

You just dismissed one cornerstone of modern civilization. Namely higher education. Good job I guess?

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