It's not surprising. A lot of lawyers will tell you that passing the bar was one of the more grueling things they've had to do. Here's a blog post about a guy who did it with 100 hours of study.
The bar exam is three grueling days. 100 hours of study is two and a half weeks of full time work.
If you interview at three tech companies, I don't think it's at all over the top to say you might study for a few weeks in total, especially if you are rusty, and the interviews are often quite grueling as well and do last all day….
Ok, I'm stretching, I won't put one iteration of interviews at bar exam levels, but we are starting to get there. Now keep in mind, we do this over and over and over in our field. And while the bar is tough, at least you know roughly what will be tested - tech interviews are often a completely moving target. And while the bar does have continuing education requirements, you don't have to do the 3 day massive study thing over and over (unless, in some cases, you move to a new state).
I really do think this is a severe problem in our industry that causes higher levels of attrition than we realize. I suppose it could be one of those "tragedy of the commons" type things, where each company benefits from long and difficult interviews, but the cumulative result is either 1) people not wanting to enter the field, or 2) people giving up on interviewing for new jobs and staying with their existing employer even if they are burned out, or 3) people quitting and going into a different field or role entirely where they can escape this hazing.
I also think this is something hiring managers should realize before saying that there is a a shortage of programmers. Your own interview processes may be contributing substantially to this "shortage".
Oh, one last thing - excellent article, thank you for writing it! Absolutely fascinating, and it explains a great deal.
http://blakemasters.com/post/37113468298/pass-the-ca-bar-exa...
The bar exam is three grueling days. 100 hours of study is two and a half weeks of full time work.
If you interview at three tech companies, I don't think it's at all over the top to say you might study for a few weeks in total, especially if you are rusty, and the interviews are often quite grueling as well and do last all day….
Ok, I'm stretching, I won't put one iteration of interviews at bar exam levels, but we are starting to get there. Now keep in mind, we do this over and over and over in our field. And while the bar is tough, at least you know roughly what will be tested - tech interviews are often a completely moving target. And while the bar does have continuing education requirements, you don't have to do the 3 day massive study thing over and over (unless, in some cases, you move to a new state).
I really do think this is a severe problem in our industry that causes higher levels of attrition than we realize. I suppose it could be one of those "tragedy of the commons" type things, where each company benefits from long and difficult interviews, but the cumulative result is either 1) people not wanting to enter the field, or 2) people giving up on interviewing for new jobs and staying with their existing employer even if they are burned out, or 3) people quitting and going into a different field or role entirely where they can escape this hazing.
I also think this is something hiring managers should realize before saying that there is a a shortage of programmers. Your own interview processes may be contributing substantially to this "shortage".
Oh, one last thing - excellent article, thank you for writing it! Absolutely fascinating, and it explains a great deal.