Yes, and it is so frustrating. Last week I was tearing into a stack dump from a crash and one of the entry level kids was watching me. I immediately identified a bad pointer and walked the stack back to the function where it originated and determined that the pointer array index was out of bounds. I might as well have been practicing witchcraft. He had no sense of what a valid address looks like, nor did he understand why that bad address would lead to a bus fault that would throw an exception. The best thing about this particular kid is that he listens and learns. He still wants to code with AI, but he knows the geezers have skills he needs. Probably my favorite among our current crop.

When I came out of school, I had experience in multiple assembly languages, operating system theory, compilers, and computer architecture. All areas where his knowledge is lacking. I am sure he knows lots of things I don't, but I haven't done a great job of identifying areas where those skills are applicable. I am pleased with his willingness and aptitude to learn. He'll be fine, but I don't have that confidence in a lot of them.

(I should remember this post when I have to write performance feedback for him.)