Nathan CrauseMusings of a Software Developer

For a while now, I've been browsing freelance programming sites, looking to make a little money. Today, on "GetAFreelance.com", I came across one particular person posting up jobs.

Nothing particularly interesting there.

However, a quick glance at the jobs this person is posting and you begin to feel a little suspicious. I'll admit I may be off the mark here, but these "jobs" seems distinctly like homework assignments. The whole "feel" of the jobs, and the fine granularity of the program requirements (right down to file names and variable names required) seems dubious. Could it be that this person is having her homework for school done by freelancers?

Well, why not? The projects are listed as having a starting budget of $30. I'm sure you could easily find a plethora of skilled programmers willing to throw together a silly little program like this for $30. It'd would take maybe 15 minutes to do so. And the net result? A school student can get an A+ on homework without even vaguely understanding the work.

The potential effects of this are disturbing. If no examination is done requiring programming, then such a student could easily pass a class with an incredible grade without the slightest idea of the subject matter (perhaps just a bit of parrot-fashion theory). An exam certainly couldn't ask for any programming which is particularly detailed and complex because of time constraints.

This student could then apply to a good university thanks to an excellent grade.

I cannot say this makes me sick, because I don't know if I'm completely off the mark on my observations here, but if this is the case it's actually disgusting. I don't pretend to be a saint, even more so while I was in school, but I at least tried to grasp what was being taught. This sort of "skating through life" irks me, particularly since (for various reasons) I was never able to attend university, and so am continually overlooked in favour of folks with degrees - folks who after spending 5 minutes talking to you know don't have a practical clue as to what they're doing. I've worked with these people - earning double or triple my salary (doing the same work), but knowing a fraction of what I do.

But I guess since humanism is becoming so prevalent, and morals have gone out the window, this sort of thing is bound to become the "norm". I just wish companies here in Canada were smart enough to actually test applicants for jobs instead of just having a "degree-only" policy for applicants (I'm looking at you, Federal Government of Canada!)