Re: not enough real programmers? (was Re: Byte Magazine: 18 Vintage issues, 1985-1986)

["Michael Covington" <mc@ai.uga.edu>]

> >This has been my experience over the last six months that I have been
> >looking for a job;  25 years in the industry, h/w and s/w design.  But I
> >don't fit neatly into the skill sheet that the HR droids use.  I even had
> >one tell me that I didn't have the required qualification of writing
> >'firmware' even though my resume lists 10 years of embedded work.

Management by buzzword.  Manager didn't know what "firmware" meant.

> Here are some computer-industry quotes from Data General management,
> from about 15 years ago ...
>
> "We like to hire young people fresh out of college, because they don't
> know what's impossible."

Could be optimism...

> "We tell our new hires that here's a 6-month project and we'd really
> like to see you PROVE yourself' and finish it ontime.  Then, we give
> them an impossibly hard/large project.  Nobody ever finishes, but this
> way we work their asses off and get a lot of production right away.
> Occasionally, some superstar idiot will finish on time, they say, 'ok,
> let's just write this into your job description : performs miracles ON
> DEMAND...'"

That is stupid management.  In fact it's dishonest.  A manager would earn my
distrust immediately by pulling a trick like that one.

Do these bosses realize their subordinates need to be able to trust them?