ATC CONTROLLER HIRING PUSH CREATES CLASS STRUGGLE

On Wed, 02 May 2007 06:08:38 -0700, Kev wrote:

The good software places to work at, don't give a bleep what degrees you
have... it's the real world experience and output that is critical
instead.

This is only partially true.

When we look at a potential employee, we're looking for projects where the
person worked both with and without supervision, and got along well either
way. We're looking for times they had to learn new stuff on their own
and innovate. We're looking for hard working types who care about their
output quality. We're also looking for people who can spell grin,
which is rare these days.

Laugh That last is absolutely true. But it's not just the skill of
spelling; it's that this is a good metric for "output quality". If one
cannot proof his/her own resume and cover letter - documents of some
personal import - then what are we to expect with regard to software?

The issue with the degree is one of consistency and depth of knowledge.
We just interviewed, for example, someone that's well educated in general
but self-taught in computer science. If we'd not pushed the interview a
bit, he'd not have lasted five minutes.

His problem is that his understanding is spotty. When asked about inner
vs. outer joins, for example, he provided a nonsense answer (ie. one is
for 1:1; the other for 1:many). We inquired further, and it turns out
that he did understand these joins. He'd merely mixed a couple of
concepts up (in an incorrect but easily fixed fashion) which led to misuse
of the labels "1:1" and "1:many".

Learning on ones own can cause this. A class, with its defined
curriculum, should (no guarantee! {8^) avoid this by building knowledge in
a proper progression.

Another risk to the self-taught is failing to learn the "why" of
something. For simple work, this may not matter. But let's consider
locking as an example, sticking with the data store theme. Locking solves
a particular problem well for given circumstances. But w/o really
understanding why locking is right for those circumstances, one might miss
that the circumstances with which he or she is faced is better served by
(for example) some form of optimistic concurrency.

On the other hand, a degree is no guarantee that a person doesn't suffer
from these issues. That is for what interviews are. But school is an
opportunity to acquire a depth of knowledge that's a little tough on ones
own.

Still, it is the responsibility of the student to exploit the opportunity.

I have to admit, though: I don't know how this applies to a controller.
But I've little-to-no knowledge of that job.

- Andrew

On Wed, 02 May 2007 10:45:49 -0400, Andrew Gideon
wrote in :

I have to admit, though: I don't know how this [college degree] applies to a controller.

I can't find the cite now, but I recall reading that the prime
requirement for ATC controllers was some sort of natural aptitude,
much like that required of top computer game players.

I suspect, that military ATC controllers are not required to possess a
college degree. Perhaps that's where the impetus for FAA dropping the
requirement stems.

"Larry Dighera" wrote in message


I suspect, that military ATC controllers are not required to possess a
college degree. Perhaps that's where the impetus for FAA dropping the
requirement stems.

Just a quick scan shows the Navy requires only a high school diploma.

From http://www.thetracon.com/atcjobs.htm#military:
"
US Navy
REQUIRED: High school graduate less than 34 years of age, Flying Class III
Physical, No Speech Impediment, Must be a U.S. Citizen.
"

I didn't bother checking the other services, but I suspect they're similar.

--
John T
http://sage1solutions.com/blogs/TknoFlyer
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____________________

Andrew Gideon wrote:
The good software places to work at, don't give a bleep what degrees you
have... it's the real world experience and output that is critical
instead.

This is only partially true.


Some shops take it too far. Years ago I recall applying for a position
involving a fairly rare specialty (one not normally taught at universities).
I got a polite rejection of my application with the explanation that they
could only consider candidates with degrees. It mattered not that I had been
working exclusively in their area of interest for over 5 yrs. Six months
later, the same company hired me as a contractor (at twice the pay), to come
in and fix the disaster created by the degreed professional that they had
hired instead.

When I jokingly asked the manager whether or not that might make them
change their views on hiring only degreed candidates, he said no. I made a
lot of money from that company over the years (as contractor).

John Galban=====N4BQ (PA28-180)

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