I liked the blade runner reference too. I am totally going to do that the next time I am interviewing someone.

One thing I have been thinking about a lot is how the purpose of certification in the IT industry is seen as qualifying job applicants. I am currently studying for a really hard certification in another industry and I can say that the primary purpose is definately not qualification: it’s designed to help the applicant learn stuff. The study materials aren’t designed to help you get over a bar but to help you know what you are doing.

This leaves me wondering why the IT industry doesn’t have certification programs like this. Maybe it’s because most of the certifications in IT are from vendors. Not sure but this is definitely an interesting topic.

Anyway, thanks for the great discussion!