Wouldn’t it be great if there was a “Data Structures and Algorithms” certification that provided validation of your skills and was industry-wide accepted so that you don’t need to go through the same leetcode coding interviews at every new job

It’s rare to see a profession where experience means so little during the hiring process

Imagine this... if that would exist.. everyone would cheat like it school.

Companies wouldn’t believe it so you’d have to whiteboard anyway.

Also, only people in the industry would know that it meant something. Hiring managers are just HR; they don’t know much of anything other than how to make a calendar work and how to read/write email.

The whole point of fizzbuzz/leetcode and similar, is to show you have the skills to do the job.

No one in thier right mind will implement an N tree data struct in thier job. You will use a lib.

@Root they must also know: how to open a spreadsheet, read a bar chart, data entry, car parking, turning on your computer without asking IT, knowing that the mouse isn’t a real mouse (don’t feed it cheese), the pen is for writing (not for eating), office etiquette (keep your nasty farts in), and finally, flaunting your power bc you’re special (in many ways)

We might have a means of doing this.

Google is adding certifications to coursera.

https://coursera.org/google-career-...

Let's say we make some standardised certification for data structures and algorithms. Should it be verified through a coding test, or a more conceptual flowchart-based test? Maybe just a multiple choice quiz? Each of those options is its own minefield of potential problems, like what language to use for a coding test, how to objectively grade flowcharts, or whether multiple choices test actually proves someone can use those algorithms.

Then you need to make sure industry accepts these certificates, which is again problematic since one or two bad apples are enough for companies to lose trust in these certificates. Also most companies want a unified metric to compare candidates, so they can either require all candidates to get this certificate, or make everyone complete the same online test.

And even if all that actually gets traction, those certificates need to stay up-to-date with the industry which changes pretty much on a daily basis.

DS and algos are fun, I like doing Leetcode for entertainment and to help keep my brain sharp. Sadly they’re rarely used in software development roles, as I’ve solved more interesting problems through Leetcode than through my career

I worked in industries with tests like that.... didn't help.

Answering trivia !== coding.

i disagree. in fact, in most traditional professions its like that. barring the extremes in experience time, obviously.

I don't like certificates.

Even with "writing tasks" (e.g. an essay that will be read by a living person to proof your knowledge) it means little imho.

You're still reproducing facts.

Even worse: Choice tests.

Most of the time people learn things by heart without having any fucking clue what it actually means.

Nothing's more fun than "the one person who has read it all and knows it all... But cannot apply said knowledge".

And everyone knows such persons...

The other negative side are costs.

Most certificates have ridiculously high fees. To get a piece of paper that says that you have reached XY percent in a test of reproduction for topic Z.

... Which might be outdated 1 year later.
But cost you a full month loan, private time, lots of sleep and so on....

I really struggle to see a sense in it - imho it's a nice way of making profit, nothing more.