I would argue that, say, a recent graduate who can absolutely nail algorithmic questions would be the most likely to screw up on the big ticket items that matter (infrastructure, taste, independent thought) precisely because they have zero real world experience.
"a recent graduate who can absolutely nail algorithmic questions would be the most likely to screw up on the big ticket items that matter"
Why do people keep implying that only new grads understand algorithms as if it's some kind of fact? In my experience, new grads don't tend to know algorithms any better than they know anything else.
Good engineers keep learning about algorithms because the knowledge is timeless.
Ridiculous. Good engineers solve engineering problems. The huge number of successful engineers out there in the world solving problems without remembering their CS course notes tells you everything you need to know about how important much of the algorithmic subject matter is.
Uh huh. I can fix my car without knowing metallurgy and fluid dynamics, but you wouldn't want me building you an engine.
Just because people are getting by doing the technical equivalent of changing sparkplugs doesn't mean that I want to hire them to do something more difficult.
And you don't immediately give a recent grad a large project with no oversight. You give them time to learn that stuff, and they'll pick it up with experience. But someone who demonstrably cant understand how computers work? That's who you need to avoid.
