Sometimes I hear statements like, “I do not want my child to be a software developer because s/he’s not too good in math.” This is a mistake. Software developers do not need to have any special math skills. They should not have problems with arithmetic, and I’ve offered a simple test in this area in my free e-book “Enterprise Software Without the BS “.

They also should be able to think logically, and I’d like to offer you a quick test to see if a person can write computer programs.

In March of 2008, I spend a week vacationing on a large cruise ship called Adventures of the Seas from Royal Caribbean line. I took the photo shown below on the pool deck. If you are a programmer, you should be able to tell what’s wrong with this sign immediately. If you want to test someone who’s thinking of pursuing software development career, give him or her 60 seconds to answer (I’m being generous here).