> Engineering firms won't even talk to someone claiming to be a ME or EE with no degree, no certifications, and/or no license.
I don't think software is "dumbing down" by ignoring credentials. We're ignoring credentials because we are finding that they have no predictive power whatsoever for competence. Most software companies do still pay attention to experience (at least while sourcing), on the belief that it is not useless as a predictor. This article is interesting because it provides strong data indicating that experience (as presented by the candidate on their resume) is also useless as a predictor.
The point is that people with good resumes are often incompetent, and competent people often have thin resumes. This article presents data indicating that filtering by resume is no better than filtering by coin flip. Thus, if OP's data and analysis are correct, paying heed to credentials and experience is irrational.
> We're ignoring credentials because we are finding that they have no predictive power whatsoever for competence.
I disagree with that actually.
It's my own anecdotal evidence, but from what I've seen, people with degrees write generally better code. They have a better understanding of algorithms, are more aware that what they're writing in a high level language isn't running by magic but is being translated into lower level constructs which may or may not be very efficient, they're more likely to realize there's an existing algorithm for what they're doing, etc.
I guess I would sum it up that people without degrees tend to work harder and not smarter.
I don't think software is "dumbing down" by ignoring credentials. We're ignoring credentials because we are finding that they have no predictive power whatsoever for competence. Most software companies do still pay attention to experience (at least while sourcing), on the belief that it is not useless as a predictor. This article is interesting because it provides strong data indicating that experience (as presented by the candidate on their resume) is also useless as a predictor.
The point is that people with good resumes are often incompetent, and competent people often have thin resumes. This article presents data indicating that filtering by resume is no better than filtering by coin flip. Thus, if OP's data and analysis are correct, paying heed to credentials and experience is irrational.