20 Years Old Senior Developer Job Interview. Joke or New Reality?
Spoiler — he was damn awesome
IT sphere is young. It always was. The skinny geniuses were creating history in their parent’s garages. The spirit of innovation is one of the best things ever. And it’s the core part of IT.
Innovation was one of the things that lured me in. I started my career as a software engineer in my early 20s. But the keyword in the previous sentence is “started”.
Nowadays, things go even faster. The developers become even younger.
A couple of days ago, I had to interview 20 years old senior developer. Some context, usually this position require at least 5 years of experience and deep knowledge of technologies.
Isn’t that shocking?!
Interview
First of all, I was surprised by the look of that candidate. He was 20 but looked like my 16 years old brother that started shaving barely last year.
So I couldn’t resist and asked a couple of personal questions. Answers were honest and inspiring.
He started coding in his early 16. No good grades at school, because it was boring. Meanwhile, computers were always interesting, especially games.
Luckily, he didn’t drown in the virtual world of games. Instead, he found a way to earn money.
At that moment, he has been working as a freelancer for 3 years already. The following point of his plan was to find a company for a stable position and further development.
Technical part
Then the tech interview started. I was suspicious because of the age. Is he just trying to fool me with his expertise? Maybe it was someone’s joke?
I tried to find at least some of the red flags of terrible developer or even lie.
But he was good. His expertise and practical skills were excellent!
My second try was to catch him in the theory field. Usually, developers know the theoretical basis worse than the practical part. Still, superior knowledge of algorithms and data structures is required for a senior developer position.
Well, he was excellent, again…
How is this possible without special education at school and without university education at all? YouTube and articles on the internet — was the simple answer.
The last check required was live coding. It’s a mandatory part of any technical interview. Nothing extra complex, simple algorithm task.
You won’t be impressed with the results. He completed it quickly and with quality.
Result
Despite his age and experience, this 20-year-old guy was one of the best developers I’ve ever seen. He wasn’t perfect, there were some gaps in his knowledge, but still, it was enough.
I recommended him for the Senior Software Engineer position. He received an offer and accepted it. Now I’m proud to have such a teammate!
Final Thoughts
This case proves again that appearance, age, gender, or anything else doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is your skills and expertise.
Everyone is chasing value. If you can provide it, you gonna be in demand. Otherwise, nobody cares.
Also, a new reality has come.
With the internet, young people receive access to a wide variety of opportunities like never before. Some use the internet to watch TikTok, others to get knowledge. The last ones can kick you off your job! So beware!
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